On Thursday, Police Holiday was ceremonially celebrated in Bolesławiec. This year marks the 87th anniversary of the establishment of the State Police. During a ceremony in the Councillors’ Hall of Bolesławiec Town Hall, police officers were formally presented with decorations and appointment documents for higher service ranks. The ceremony was attended by, among others: Deputy Voivode Roman Kulczycki, First Deputy Commander of the Provincial Police Zbigniew Maciejewski, delegations from other uniformed services, local government authorities and invited guests.
During the second part of the ceremony, a commemorative plaque was unveiled at the site where Senior Sergeant Dariusz Chełkowski was killed. The family of the police officer, who was killed 12 years ago, was present at the ceremony. The plaque was unveiled by Deputy Voivode Roman Kulczycki, First Deputy Commander of the Provincial Police Zbigniew Maciejewski, Bolesławiec Mayor Piotr Roman, Commander of the Bolesławiec District Police Headquarters Adam Różycki and Genowefa Sikora, the mother of the murdered police officer. Police officers from the Independent Police Prevention Subunit in Legnica fired a ceremonial salvo. The Bolesławiec Police Holiday celebrations concluded with a parade drill performance by the Orchestra of the Provincial Police Headquarters in Wrocław.
Circumstances of Dariusz Chełkowski’s tragic death
Sergeant Dariusz Chełkowski (born in 1969) joined the Prevention Department of the Bolesławiec District Police Headquarters in October 1990. From 1992, he served as a district officer, and until 1994 he was a police officer in the Traffic and Prevention Department of the Bolesławiec District Police Headquarters. From 1 July 1994 to 16 October 1994, he was delegated to temporarily serve at the Warsaw Metropolitan Police Headquarters. He performed duties directly related to protecting public order and security.
On 10 December 1994, the patrol in which Sergeant Dariusz Chełkowski was serving checked the identities of people suspected of assault in the Bolesławiec market square. Another police car, called in for assistance, took the detainees to the Headquarters. The intervening officers and the injured person remained at the scene and waited for the police car to return. Then a shot was fired from the opposite side of the Market Square. The bullet, ricocheting off the ground, struck Sergeant Dariusz Chełkowski in the back. Despite immediate assistance, he died several hours later in hospital. The shot was fired by a drunk associate of the injured man, who wanted to avenge the assault. He possessed the weapon illegally.
Sergeant Dariusz Chełkowski left behind a wife and a five-year-old son. He was posthumously awarded the Cross of Merit for Bravery and promoted to the rank of senior sergeant.
(information from A. Gergont, press spokesperson for the city office)