General Jarosław Szymczyk made news around the world in December, 2022, when he discharged the weapon, injuring himself and a maintenance worker.

Szymczyk had been given the RGW 90 grenade launcher on a trip to Kyiv to visit officials serving in Ukraine’s emergency services.

On returning to Warsaw, Szymczyk fired the weapon and was rushed to hospital after temporarily losing his hearing.

His mishap sparked a flurry of memes with some depicting Poland’s top cop as Rambo, and others as Homer Simpson. Yet others suggested that Szymczyk was simply issuing a timely reminder regarding the dangers of fireworks.

Investigators, however, failed to see the funny side. Szymczyk, meanwhile, said the launcher accidentally fired when he tried to move it.

In 2024 Marcin Kierwiński, the former head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Administration, filed a report that revealed 27 irregularities.

Szymczyk has now been charged on two counts: possession of an unlicensed grenade launcher that was transported to Poland without being declared at the border, and unintentionally endangering lives and health and causing destruction of high-value property.

Piotr Antoni Skiba, a spokesman for the Warsaw district prosecutor's office, said: “The general stated that he did not understand the allegations and refused to comment on them.”

He added: “The general demanded that in order to testify in this case, he needed the consent of the current head of the Ministry of the Interior and Administration.”

If convicted, Szymczyk faces up to eight years in jail.