11th Anniversary of Schoolboy Killing

11 years ago today, on Saturday Jan. 10 1998, police killed a 13-year old boy in the city of Slupsk in northern Poland. The boy was murdered because he was among a group of people who decided to cross a red light.

After going to a basketball game, 13-year old Przemyslaw (Przemek) Czaja was in a crowd of hundreds of fans who were leaving the game. The large group of people decided to cross a street on the red light. The crowd was attacked by police. A cop struck Przemek on the head with his baton multiple times and was knocked unconscious. Despite the fact that the crowd demanded police call an ambulance, they did nothing and the boy died.

The next day a group of people went to the place of the murder to erect a cross and then marched to the police station. The prosecutor made a public statement claiming that the boy "tripped and hit his head". However there were dozens of witnesses to the events. As news spread of the prosecutor's cover-up, angry people began to mobilize. Police stations and vehicles came under attack. Three days of rioting followed.

239 adults and 251 minors were detained. 72 police officers were injured, two of whom were hospitalized.

In 2001 Dariusz W., the officer who killed the boy, was sentenced to 8 years. However, he was released after 4 years due to poor health. Another officer, Robert K. who was sitting in a cruiser during the incident, was accused of failing to help the victim.

Short film of riot