The incident occurred on Tuesday, 10 September 2024 – During a patrol of Wleń Municipality in the village of Klecza, police officers from the Prevention Division of the District Police Headquarters in Lwówek Śląski noticed a Mercedes Vito vehicle that was being driven without its lights on – reports junior aspirant Olga Łukaszewicz, press officer of the Lwówek KPP. – Consequently, they decided to stop the vehicle for inspection.
At first, nothing indicated how the inspection would end. The spokesperson said: – While checking the person and the vehicle in police systems, the driver reached for the keys, which were on the dashboard, and started the vehicle. During an attempt to prevent the vehicle from driving away, a police officer was hit and suffered general bruising.
A chase of the driver began, during which a policewoman used her service firearm.
In Golejów, the driver turned onto a dirt road. After driving for more than a kilometre, he abandoned the car and fled on foot into the forest. Lwówek police:
Officers from the District Police Headquarters in Lwówek Śląski, the Police Station in Gryfów Śląski and the Police Post in Mirsk took part in the search for the man. The Police Search and Rescue Group, equipped with specialist equipment, was also assigned to the operation. During the operation, narcotic substances in the form of methamphetamine were found in the vehicle. According to police information, the man was wanted to serve a six-day prison sentence for an offence related to theft. He also had a court-imposed driving ban.
The fugitive was caught by officers the next day, at around 8:00 a.m. The 39-year-old resident of Jelenia Góra was placed in a police cell and then taken to the Lwówek prosecutor’s office, where he was charged with using violence – by hitting a police officer with a car – to force the officer to abandon a traffic inspection and causing bodily injuries in the form of general bruising, as well as fleeing from a chase conducted by a person authorised to control road traffic and illegally possessing psychotropic substances in the form of methamphetamine.
The 39-year-old, who at the prosecutor’s request was placed by the court in pre-trial detention for three months, could face up to five years in prison.