The man was travelling by bus with his children, aged 8 and 14. The police intervention was prompted by an electric scooter that the 35-year-old had with him. Carrying such a device on the bus violates the carrier’s regulations. The man did not want to leave the bus, so the driver notified the police. In addition, an odour of alcohol could be detected from the 35-year-old.

A recording that went viral:

The course of the intervention, based on the police account, is described by gazeta.pl:

“The police officers once again informed the man that he could continue his journey without the scooter or get off with it. Furthermore, during the proceedings it also turned out that the man was wanted,” the police report. According to the police, the man “attempted to use threats to force the officers to discontinue their actions.”

According to the officers, the 35-year-old did not respond to their orders, so the police had to use direct coercive measures and remove him. “During transport to the police station, the man was vulgar and aggressive and insulted the officers. He was detained in police custody,” we read. During this time, the children were looked after by their mother.

The 35-year-old was charged and faces up to three years in prison. The prosecutor ordered police supervision as a preventive measure.

Because the man did not respond to the police officers’ orders, they used force against him. He was removed from the bus and handcuffed—all in front of his crying children. The manner in which the officers conducted the intervention sparked a wave of controversy and comments on social media portals.

Below, we publish the bus surveillance footage and the police’s full statement on the matter:

THE CHILDREN KNEW THAT TRAVELLING BY BUS WITH AN ELECTRIC SCOOTER WAS NOT ALLOWED. A FEW HOURS LATER, THEIR FATHER DECIDED TO TEST “IT” HIS OWN WAY

Yesterday, we reported on a man detained on one of the buses in Jelenia Góra who, despite the driver’s and police officers’ requests, failed to comply with the carrier’s regulations and was wanted so that his place of residence could be established. He also insulted the intervening officers and attempted, by threatening them, to force them to discontinue their actions. We are presenting surveillance footage showing what happened before the police detained him.

On August 30, 2020, Jelenia Góra police detained a 35-year-old man suspected of insulting officers and attempting, through threats, to force them to discontinue legal proceedings. The man was also wanted by the District Prosecutor’s Office in Jelenia Góra so that his place of residence could be established.

However, it began with a report concerning a passenger who attempted to carry an electric scooter on the bus in violation of the carrier’s regulations. It should be noted here that this type of equipment has a battery which, in the event of a possible leak or explosion, poses a real danger to people travelling on the bus. Jelenia Góra residents themselves encountered precisely such a situation in August 2020, when an electric scooter battery exploded outside one of the stores. It is also not difficult to imagine the danger that unsecured equipment of this type poses to other passengers during sudden braking by a city bus. Under the municipal carrier’s regulations, an electric scooter is not included on the list of items that may constitute hand luggage.

The passenger who refused to comply with the carrier’s regulations turned out to be a 35-year-old resident of Jelenia Góra who was with his minor children. A clear smell of alcohol could be detected from the man. The police officers once again informed him that he could continue his journey without the scooter or get off with it. Furthermore, during the proceedings it also turned out that the man was wanted. The officers ordered him to get off the bus because he was violating the carrier’s regulations and because it was necessary to establish his place of residence. However, the 35-year-old did not respond to any orders, so the officers were forced to use direct coercive measures and remove him from the bus. During transport to the police station, the man was vulgar and aggressive and insulted the officers. He was detained in police custody. He was charged in the case, and the District Prosecutor in Jelenia Góra applied the preventive measure of police supervision.

An important fact in this case is that several hours before the 35-year-old’s detention, the same children, wanting to travel by bus with an electric scooter, had been asked by the driver to leave the bus, which they did. Several hours later, they appeared on the bus with the man who was later detained and the electric scooter. The surveillance footage shows, among other things, how the 35-year-old forcefully opens the bus doors at a stop, allowing the children to get off to go shopping. Shortly afterwards, they return and hand one of the items to the man. It is a plastic bottle containing a drink, which he partly empties by pouring its contents outside the bus. He then fills it with liquid from another, glass bottle. After a moment, the girls’ father begins drinking the mixture prepared in this way.

Please watch the attached bus surveillance footage, which shows that before detaining the man, the police officers spoke with him for nearly nine minutes. When this proved ineffective, he was forcibly removed from the bus. Other officers approached the girls, spoke with them and calmed them until their mother arrived at the scene.