The District Prosecutor’s Office in Kraków announced on Thursday that the investigation concerns possible defamation of police officers serving in the city’s police force.
The case follows complaints submitted by several private individuals.
Tomasz Waszczuk, a spokesman for the prosecutor’s office, said the investigation concerns statements suggesting that police were not present at the scene, as well as claims made during a live broadcast that foreigners had taken part in the attack.
TV Republika editor-in-chief Tomasz Sakiewicz commented on the investigation on air, saying it concerned his reporting from the scene.
He questioned the allegation that his remarks about foreigners amounted to racial insult and defended his claim that police were absent.
Sakiewicz also warned that people who had published videos showing an apparent lack of police officers at the scene could face similar legal action.
He maintained that his reporting had accurately reflected what he had seen and heard.
The attack took place on Saturday in Kraków’s main square, where a 24-year-old man drove a car into the square before opening fire on passers-by.
Sakiewicz was present at the scene as TV Republika broadcast live coverage. During the report, he said there were no police officers at the scene, suggesting that police reserves had been sent to Warsaw.
He also said that foreigners had been involved in the incident.
Police disputed the claim that officers were absent, saying they had been present and had intervened.
One officer was standing close to Sakiewicz during the broadcast, wearing civilian clothes but displaying a police insignia on his sleeve, state news agency PAP reported.
The coverage has also prompted scrutiny from media regulators and journalists’ organisations.
On Monday, the National Broadcasting Council (KRRiT) announced that it had launched an inquiry following complaints about the broadcaster’s reporting.
Culture Minister Marta Cienkowska was among those who filed a complaint, citing unverified information, accusations against police and reporting that could have fuelled public panic.
The Polish Media Council criticised Sakiewicz’s remarks in a statement published on Sunday, describing them as an unacceptable use of a tragedy to promote a political narrative.
Sakiewicz later defended his reporting in a post on X, saying he had been the first journalist to broadcast live from the scene and that he could not honestly have told viewers anything different from what he had witnessed.
Six people were killed and 16 injured in the attack, including two police officers. The same night, police found the bodies of the attacker’s father, mother and sister, all with gunshot wounds, in his flat in Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski.
The attacker died in hospital on Monday.
(pg/gs)
Source: PAP