preložiť The police department in Spišská Stará Ves has failed, Šutaj Eštok said. Police chief Solák quits, Fico welcomes change
After the tragic attack at the gymnasium in Spišská Stará Ves, Interior Minister Matúš Šutaj Eštok (Votes-SD) announced a major personnel change in the Police Corps. Police President Ľubomír Solák is leaving his post, which he has held since December 2023.
In his statement, the Minister of the Interior also informed about the fundamental findings of the Office of the Inspection Service concerning the period before the tragic event at the gymnasium in Spišská Stará Ves.
According to him, the district department of the Police Corps in Spišská Stará Ves did not sufficiently evaluate the information it received from classmates and school management about the troubled student.
Police have failed, according to the minister
Šutaj Eštok said the police had knowledge that the student who attacked his classmate and the vice-principal was instilling fear among students and faculty. Nevertheless, they did not intervene in time.
"This department should have known that this student could be potentially dangerous," the minister said.
Premiér: Odchod Soláka vítam
Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD) also commented on Solák's departure in a Facebook post.
"I welcome the fact that the president of the Police Corps, Mr Solák, has taken responsibility for the underestimation of prevention in the case of the murder of a teacher and a young student in Spišská Stara Ves. I expect the same from the chairman of the Office of Geodesy and Cartography in connection with the hacker attack on the cadastre and from the director general of the National Centre for Health Information in connection with the New Year's confusion with the e-prescription," Fico said.
At the end of the video, Fico criticised the lenient attitude towards the LGBTI+ community and informed that in a few days he will come "with a serious initiative on cultural and ethical issues".
He added that the opposition parties "KDH and PS should take heed".
Personnel implications after the tragedy
The minister also announced that he would hold the district department personally accountable as a result of the misconduct found.
With immediate effect, the director of the District Police Department in Spišská Stará Ves will be dismissed. Police President Ľubomír Solák is also leaving his post.
Solák's end was justified by the scale of the whole tragedy. "In view of it, I have agreed with him to terminate his tenure as police president without delay," the minister pointed out.
Until a new police president is appointed, the current vice-president Rastislav Polakovič is in charge of the PZ.
He added that investigations by the Inspection Service Bureau and the investigation into the tragedy are ongoing.
"We will inform about further information only when the procedural aspect of the investigation allows it," the minister concluded.
You can also watch the full press conference here: