Former head of Polish police indicted over explosion of grenade launcher in his office

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Notes from Poland is run by a small editorial team and is published by an independent, non-profit foundation that is funded through donations from our readers. We cannot do what we do without your support.

The former national head of Poland’s police, Jarosław Szymczyk, has been indicted for illegal possession of an anti-tank grenade launcher and causing it to discharge at the national police headquarters.

The incident, which took place in December 2022, caused major damage at the main police headquarters in Warsaw, including blowing a hole in the floor. Szymczyk and one civilian employee were hospitalised with minor injuries.

The indictment marks the conclusion of a high-profile investigation that began more than three years ago. The case will now go to trial and, if Szymczyk is found guilty, he could face years in prison.

Szymczyk, who served as police chief from 2016 to 2023, faces allegations of possessing a RGW-90 grenade launcher without the necessary licence and failing to declare its transportation across the Polish border.

He is also accused of “unintentionally bringing about an event endangering the life and health of many people on the premises of the police headquarters and causing significant property damage to the building,” said prosecutors’ spokesman Piotr Antoni Skiba in a statement.

Following the incident, Szymczyk said he had received the grenade launcher as a gift from the heads of Ukrainian uniformed services during a visit to Ukraine in 2022.

An investigation by the Military Armament Technical Institute determined that the launcher was functional and had been handed over in safe mode during a meeting in Kyiv. However, prosecutors allege that Szymczyk unlocked the device in his office, enabling it to fire.

Prosecutors announced on Tuesday that Szymczyk has been indicted for importing the grenade launcher into Poland without notifying customs officials at the Dorohusk border crossing, in violation of article 263, paragraph 2 of the penal code.

Additionally, he was indicted under article 163 for causing a dangerous event. If convicted, he could face between six months and eight years in prison for possessing the weapon and up to five years for endangering public safety.

In a statement to RMF FM, Szymczyk claimed that he had found out about the indictment from the media. “The prosecutor in the investigation did not give me a chance to explain, did not recognise any of the evidence I had submitted…I was stripped of my right to defend myself,” he said.

The incident has raised questions about oversight and accountability within the Polish police force. The then-authorities, including the former Law and Justice (PiS) government, attempted to downplay what happened, initially attributing the damage to construction work.

However, an audit conducted under the coalition government that replaced PiS in December 2023 uncovered 27 irregularities, including procedural lapses and the evasion of responsibility by senior officials.

Prosecutors are continuing to investigate the alleged failure of officials to perform their duties in relation to the incident, including not carrying out an appropriate inspection of the gift and not evacuating the police headquarters following the explosion.

Notes from Poland is run by a small editorial team and published by an independent, non-profit foundation that is funded through donations from our readers. We cannot do what we do without your support.

Main image credit: MSWiA

Alicja Ptak

Alicja Ptak is senior editor at Notes from Poland and a multimedia journalist. She previously worked for Reuters.