Never Intended to Kill Priest, Officer Testifies

A secret police lieutenant on trial for the slaying of a pro-Solidarity priest testified today that he never intended to kill the victim and was happy when an earlier attempt to kidnap the cleric failed.

Lt. Waldemar Chmielewski, who stuttered and looked nervous, is charged along with three other security officers in the Oct. 19 abduction and slaying of the Rev. Jerzy Popieluszko.

Chmielewski, 29, fainted during a break in the session. Doctors examined him and let him testify for an hour before the court adjourned for the day.

Chmielewski in his testimony Wednesday confirmed a fellow officer’s account that “top ranks” of the Interior Ministry approved the kidnaping of the priest, even if the victim was killed. (Story, Page 5.)

Kidnap Attempt Failed

Chmielewski today recounted the failed attempt to kidnap Popieluszko six days before the priest was killed. In connection with the Oct. 13 incident, Chmielewski and two of his co-defendants are charged with attempted murder by throwing stones at the priest’s car as it was being driven from Gdansk to Warsaw.

He said the stones were thrown to try to cause an accident in order to kidnap the priest.

Chmielewski said that after the failed attack, he and Lt. Leszek Pekala and Capt. Grzegorz Piotrowski stopped at a parking lot to drink beer. He said Pekala was “laughing” at Piotrowski, who failed to hit Popieluszko’s car with the rocks because the priest’s driver drove directly at the officers and forced them to scatter.

“I even scolded him (Pekala), as he went too far in laughing at Piotrowski, while I was happy with the course of events,” Chmielewski said. “In fact, I was glad there was no accident.”

He said that after the rock-throwing Piotrowski told the two lieutenants that “further actions” against the priest would be undertaken and instructed them to maintain a round-the-clock watch on him.