Michał Domaradzki, a former retiree who was receiving disability benefits, is set to become the new Chief of Police. According to the newspaper “Rzeczpospolita,” a medical commission re-evaluated his condition earlier this year and deemed him healthy. Domaradzki gained public attention in January due to his alleged involvement in the arrest of Members of Parliament Mariusz Kamiński and Maciej Wąsik at the Presidential Palace.
Information from “Rzeczpospolita” indicates that Domaradzki is slated to become the Chief of Police in March. Originally, he was supposed to assume the position in January, but his status as a disabled person made it impossible at the time. Another obstacle was the legal charges brought against him, but now each of those charges is expected to be dropped.
How did Domaradzki become disabled? In 2016, he retired from the police force and was granted a disability pension, which increased his retirement income from 15,000 to around 18,000 złoty gross. According to “Rzeczpospolita,” a source indicated that he had “a permanent health impairment.” After leaving the police, he took on the role of Director of the Office of Security and Crisis Management in the Warsaw City Hall, and later as the Director of the Warsaw Security Center. A significant moment in his career was on December 19, 2023, when the coalition employed him part-time as an “expert” in the Department of Public Order.
Additionally, in January, when the police entered the Presidential Palace to arrest MPs Mariusz Kamiński, Domaradzki was allegedly involved in the operation.
“Domaradzki was in contact with the head of the Ministry of Interior and Administration Marcin Kierwiński, with whom he has been acquainted for years,” noted one of the sources speaking to the WP portal.
Legal issues
Domaradzki also faced prosecutorial charges related to the 2020 presidential campaign and two incidents involving Warsaw buses during that time. One incident resulted in the death of one person near the Grot-Rowecki Bridge, with the bus driver accused of driving under the influence of drugs.
According to the prosecution, Michał Domaradzki, serving as the Director of the Office of Security and Crisis Management of the City of Warsaw, expected to be informed by the prosecutor Wrzosek about the progress of the accident investigation, using his acquaintance with her.
The prosecution also revealed excerpts of electronic correspondence between prosecutors and the official. According to the Szczecin prosecutor’s office, Wrzosek, without direct access to the case, obtained information about the proceedings from her acquaintance, prosecutor Małgorzata M., and passed it on to Michał Domaradzki.
As “Rzeczpospolita” recalled, in December 2022, the spokesperson for the Regional Prosecutor’s Office in Szczecin, Marcin Lorenc, stated, “we are confident in the authenticity of these entries, they have been thoroughly examined by an expert in every way, they are deposited in the Supreme Court.” Currently, his narrative has changed, as Lorenc emphasized, “the new Regional Prosecutor in Szczecin, Mr. Wojciech Szcześniak, is familiarizing himself with all cases handled in this Prosecutor’s Office – so far, he has had the opportunity to familiarize himself with the thread concerning one of the prosecutors, about whom a previous application for the lifting of prosecutorial immunity was submitted (Małgorzata M. – ed.).”
He also stressed that “after analyzing the files, prosecutor Szcześniak ‘agreed with the non-binding decision of the Supreme Court to refuse to lift her immunity and withdrew the prosecutor’s appeal, therefore, in this scope, the criminal liability proceedings against the prosecutor will be concluded.” As “Rzeczpospolita” observes, after the appeal against prosecutor M. was withdrawn, “it is almost certain that the investigators will abandon the prosecution of prosecutor Wrzosek, and then the charge against Domaradzki will become irrelevant.”
Despite these legal issues, Domaradzki’s appointment as Chief of Police is set to proceed, marking a significant development in his career despite past controversies.