They vow to protect the security of the State and its citizens. Even at the risk of his life. Unfortunately, for many officers, the oath was literal. This is the story of the first policeman murdered on duty after 1989.
On April 6, 1990, the Police Act was passed. It was a milestone in building democracy. Renaming the Citizens' Militia as the Police, it was separated from the security apparatus and the principle of apoliticality was adopted, which was to be the overriding principle of the operation of law enforcement services.
The change of the political system and the economic transformations that followed it resulted in an unprecedented development of organized crime . Attacks on the new formation also began. Already in July 1990, gangsters from Pruszków opened fire on policemen in Nadarzyn.
No one dared to attack the Civic Militia so openly. The victims among the policemen were only a matter of time.
Blind fate
It was Friday May 1, 1992. At 22:00, three policemen set off on a routine patrol in Bytom. Their names are Marek, Zbigniew and Ryszard. Marek Sienicki is going as a substitute. He swapped with a friend because he just didn't like to say no . He was to spend the whole evening at the police station, receiving reports, answering phone calls and stuff like that… boredom. And then he was to return home to Tarnowskie Góry and spend time with his loved ones.
It was also supposed to be boring on patrol. The first day of the long May weekend, twenty-four years ago, means emptiness in the city, just like today. People go to their families, to the countryside, to a plot of land. The worst that could have happened was a drunken brawl in the den, or a family brawl ... probably also under the influence of alcohol. The most dangerous criminal you could have expected that night was a petty thief or a domestic brute .
Moments after midnight, the officers arrive at the police station, where Ryszard gets out, who remembered the urgent work. He would find out in a few hours how lucky he was.
That nobody could have predicted
Slightly after the third eye of the officers, two men appeared, one of whom was carrying a sports bag. They crossed the road in accordance with the regulations. They weren't drunk. Seeing the police car, they did not accelerate or make nervous movements.
They were acting calmly, maybe too calmly . They didn't look like partygoers coming home. They walked slowly as if they were walking. Oddly enough, one of them decided to parade in a hat and gloves on a warm May night.
When the police car has passed this strange pair, the policemen follow them with their eyes looking in the rearview mirror. They did not expect any excesses from them. The men with the bag showed neither fear nor aggression. Wierzba and Sienicki were experienced cops , they could sense the falsity.
Suddenly, the men disappeared behind the Nysa street by the road. The policemen reacted vigilantly. Are the men up to something, are they going to steal the Nyska? Nothing worse could be expected on this peaceful evening. This was supposed to be a routine ID card.
Marek, as the dispatcher, left the car, I pulled back the police car to cut off a possible escape route for the suspects. At the same moment, Marek was already under fire - this is how Zbigniew Wierzba recalls the event in the book by Joanna and Rafał Pasztelański entitled "Policemen. For the price of life ”(Znak Horyzont2016).
>Marek Sienicki entered the police force in 1990. In the photo he is sitting behind the wheel of a militia polonaise. The illustration comes from the book by Joanna and Rafał Pasztelański entitled "Policemen. At the cost of life ”
The suspicious walkers came out from behind the car - each with a PPS wz. 43, cal. 7.62 firing weapons in series as on the front. Police officers without bulletproof vests, armed with regular P-64 pistols with six rounds in the magazine, had no chance. PeeMs are spitting bullets at 550 rounds per minute and have magazines for 35 rounds.
Marek fell. Then one of the attackers shot at the police car, wounding Zbigniew. The torturer thought he had killed him on the spot, so went to the lying Mark and killed him . In cold blood. Once again the murderers made sure that Zbigniew did not move and began to walk away.
It was a chance for Zbigniew. They pulled out a service pistol and fired a full clip at the bandits. They were too far - he missed. The torturers escaped, handing the last series towards the policeman. As it turned out later, one of the thugs shot a friend.
For what? For nothing!
Marek Sienicki - an exemplary husband, son and policeman - died with his eyes open. He tried to repel the attack, but only had time to unhook the pistol holster. Why did Marek die? The killers were caught a few months later. 27-year-old Ireneusz G. and 29-year-old Andrzej M. were not members of the Russian mafia or any other serious criminal group. Ordinary recidivists and prison mates .
Ireneusz G. and Andrzej M. stole weapons from the "Omex" Clothing Industry Plant in Głuchołazy and decided to kill the policeman. For nothing to prove to myself that you can . To shine in the criminal world. Then they would set up a gang and raid gas stations, exchange offices and banks in Germany.
If you don't know what's going on, it's about money
In the first years of transformation, the police faced a particularly difficult task. The increase in crime forced the number of officers to jump from eighty thousand in 1990 to one hundred and five thousand in 1993. However, the hardware was missing…
In the early nineties, the weaponry was outdated and incomplete . The Polonaise was a luxury - most of the officers still set off in the good-natured "big Fiat" 125p. It was even worse with the protective armament. If you could find at least one bulletproof vest at the police station, it was fine anyway.
The policemen asked and appealed to the authorities, but there were more urgent needs. Could Marek Sienicki have survived if the policemen had been better looked after in the first years after the transformation? Apparently, someone had to die to open the eyes of the authorities.
Supreme Victim
I am a citizen of the Republic of Poland, aware of taking up the duties of a policeman, I vow:to serve the nation faithfully, protect the legal order established by the Constitution of the Republic of Poland, guard the security of the State and its citizens, even at the risk of his life .
The words quoted above are part of the rota of the police oath. As Joanna and Rafał Pasztelański wrote in the book entitled "Policemen. For the price of life "(Znak Horyzont2016): for many officers, these words turned out to be literal and tragic.
The Police Book of Remembrance includes one hundred and thirteen names of the fallen policemen, but the data it contains is incomplete. It does not cover the most difficult years after the political transformation:from 1990 up to 1995 inclusive. Also the data from the last two years are only just completed.
Po transformacji ustrojowej z roku na rok zwiększała się liczba policjantów ginących na służbie . Often, officers die young with age and age - those who carry out hard daily work, protecting honest citizens from criminals.
Remember this when we hear about "dogs", "dogs", "curbs", "mends", "sad gentlemen" and "smurfs". These people are not contemptible. They deserve the highest respect.
The families of fallen policemen are looked after by the Foundation for Aid to Widows and Orphans of Fallen Policemen. The number of families covered by the Foundation's assistance increases every year. Four families came last year. Currently, the foundation associates two hundred and thirty-three families.