The court lifted the preventive measure of treating Jan B. in a closed psychiatric facility—according to Onet. Instead, the man was required to undergo specific therapies. Meanwhile, the police who detained him may be liable for exceeding their authority.
Killer Leaves Locked Psychiatric Hospital
Onet reports that Jan B., who on April 11, 2019 murdered a 65‑year‑old man on a church pew outside St. Augustine’s Church on Nowolipka 18 in Warsaw, no longer stays in the closed psychiatric hospital. The preventive measure was annulled, but the court required him to undergo specific therapies in a care‑treatment facility instead. According to court spokesperson Anna Ptaszek, Jan B. was transported “directly from the psychiatric hospital and still remains there, carrying out the prescribed therapies.”
Can the Offender Leave the Psychiatric Facility?
The decision to keep a person in a closed psychiatric hospital stemmed from their health condition. Such a decision is made indefinitely, though often every six months a medical report evaluates the patient’s current state and the necessity of continued treatment in closed conditions. At the same interval, the court decides whether to maintain the measure or switch to a lesser degree of restriction (e.g., treatment or therapy at a specialized open facility such as a substance‑abuse clinic or mental‑health outpatient clinic). The decision is purely based on medical considerations, the judge said.
Povocate Prosecution Accuses Police of Excessive Force
The Warsaw Regional Prosecutor’s Office issued a statement on August 4, saying that the officers who incapacitated Jan B. used a gas that was “unproportionate” to the threat level. As a result, the man suffered health problems, including a brief sudden cardiac arrest and acute respiratory failure, resulting in a severe impairment of health: a vascular brain injury, visual loss (cortical blindness), foot drop, left‑side upper and lower limb weakness, and Parkinson’s disease—according to the prosecutor.
The officers also applied an “unacceptable restraint technique” by flipping the lying victim onto his back and securing his ankles with handcuffs while his hands were bound behind his back. Consequently, the officers faced charges of exceeding their authority.
