Murder
mystery | | Humberside
- land of opportunity for many Poles |
There is a city where
work is seemingly everywhere, the taxes are low and there's a chance to earn three
times your hourly rate. No, this isn't Tokyo or Geneva but Hull, and for
tens of thousands Polish workers it offers the chance of a lifetime.
A
weekly Sunday meeting in the city centre sees an old church hall packed with Poles
who've come to East Yorkshire in search of a better life. The Polish people
come to England because the wages in Poland are very low and they need more money
for their families. One man who did just that was 31-year-old
Krystof Kruk who came to Humberside for the good life. But this man would
be dead within his first week of life in Hull - a death that would lead to an
investigation into the conduct of Humberside Police. Polish roots
The
story of Krystof Kruk began in Szcezcin in North Eastern Poland, Hull's twin city. It
can be a troubled place with its fair share of poverty and crime.
But
in 2005 there was hope for the people in Szcezcin when Poland became part of the
EU, meaning every citizen could earn abroad. That's what drew Krystof to
Yorkshire. His father was a peasant farmer - money was tight, and it was a life
from which Krystof wanted to escape: "Krystof was a happy
lad, he liked to have fun, he didn't pick on anyone or cause harm to anybody,
and the reason he went to England wasn't to visit the country but to get work.
"And I didn't hold him back at all because he was a grown man and
he needed a job." Father, Unas Polska.
So in early
September 2005 Krystof set out on his 1,000 mile journey. It was a time
of excitement, money and guaranteed graft. Once in East Yorkshire Krystof
easily found a job as a butcher. His surroundings were modest at best but
Krystof was believed to be enjoying his new life in Hull. He was really
looking forward to his first Friday night in the city. Yet it was his first
weekend night out in the city that would end his life. Tragic night out The
details are unclear but it seems Krystof was out on the town. He was known
for liking a drink and having a good laugh. But Inside Out doesn't know
for sure where he went or how much he'd been drinking - if at all. Sometime
after eleven o'clock Krystof was on his way to Circus Circus. He was still
keen on continuing his night out, but the staff at the bar were thinking differently.
The
Police are releasing little about what happened to Krystof that night - but Inside
Out obtained a letter sent to Humberside Police.
| "I was horrified when I read the paper the next day and
saw he'd been killed on Beverley Road within minutes of being driven away from
here." | | Night club door man |
It's
from a staff member of Circus Circus. He didn't want to talk to us but this is
what he said in the letter: "It was the evening of Saturday the 17th
of September and I was on duty. I'd say at around 20 past 11 to about half past
..
me and the head doorman refused entry to a man I later found out was Krystof Kruk."
According
to the letter, Krystof was asked to leave but the staff at Circus Circus believed
he was drunk and he wasn't having any of it:
"He became agitated and
started pushing and shoving at the doors. We radioed to the CCTV control room
and we then asked for police assistance as we reckoned the man was a danger to
others and himself. They came and I say it was about 11.30-11.40." Krystof
was taken away in a police van.
He was released on Beverley Road towards
his home and some way from the Circus Circus pub. What happened next is
unclear, but some time later an ambulance was called just after midnight after
Mr Kruk was hit by a taxi on Beverley Road and he died from his injuries. A
family's grief
Back in Poland Krystof Kruk's family are devastated: "When
you don't talk about it it doesn't hurt so much, you don't think about it all
the time. But when you start talking about it, your heart starts to squeeze itself
and crush itself. "With time the pain may relent but when will that
be?"
Father, Unas Polska.
The terrible news came on
an ordinary autumn day:
"We didn't know anything - two weeks we waited
which was very hard because we just needed him back to bury him... why does god
always have to take the special children?" says his mother Kaleeshmee Kruk. So
why was Krystof Kruk released, and how drunk was he, if at all?
He was
dropped off in a big city in which he was a stranger and where cars drove on the
'wrong' side of the road. "They've been numerous cases
in the past few years going into the police duty of care.
"And what
they say is the police have a duty of care to anyone they detain. "They
don't have to be under arrest, they have to be in detention because once the police
take somebody into custody in a police car, van or station and deprive them of
them of their freedom of manoeuvre and they have to ensure that person's safety."
Mike McColgan, Solicitor with Liberty.
Duty
of care There is no evidence that the officers in this case breached
their duty of care. Sources close to the investigation told Inside Out that
Mr Kruk was not arrested for being drunk and he was able to walk unaided. The
case has now been handed over to the Independent Police Complaints Commission
(IPPC) and Cleveland Police are now investigating their counterparts on East Yorkshire. Humberside
Police are limited as to what they can say but did provide us with a brief statement.
It confirms the IPCC is investigating the period of time Mr Kruk was in
contact with their officers, while Humberside are investigating the road traffic
accident.
The force acknowledges there is proper public interest in the
incident but says it would be inappropriate to make comment at this time as such
comment may be speculative and potentially damaging to the investigation. Desperate
for answers Back in Poland Krystof's family is desperate for answers,
and his father says: "Here in Poland
we are far behind
the UK but if we found a dog in the street, we would take it to shelter. "The
police stopped someone who didn't have any documents, couldn't speak the language.
They should've kept him long enough till they worked out who he was."
The
family still feel they are some way off from knowing the answers they want.
And
perhaps the only person who knows the full story of what happened that night in
Hull is Krystof Kruk Links relating to this story:The BBC is not responsible for the content
of external websites | 
Inside
Out - Yorkshire & Lincolnshire: Monday February 13, 2006
