Rarely have bodycam images come in so hard. It is perhaps the most compelling and shocking police footage to be made public in the UK in recent years. 18-year-old student Henry Nowak warns four times that he has been stabbed. He shouts seven times that he can’t breathe. But the officers who rush by refuse to believe him and handcuff him. While the teenager succumbs to his injuries on the sidewalk, his murderer, who had falsely accused Henry of racism, is immediately heard. It is a fatal error of judgment that is now rocking British politics.
Journalist at HLN
Source: BBC, Daily Mail, The Telegraph
These are the bodycam images in question. Please note, these are hard images:
The tragedy of Henry Nowak’s death is not only determined by the fatal stab wounds, but especially by the events in the minutes that followed. The boy was not treated as a victim fighting for his life, but as a suspect. This becomes painfully clear when viewing the released bodycam images of the officers.
The video shows the 18-year-old student shouting four times: “I’ve been stabbed,” to which a police officer laconically replies: “I don’t think so, buddy.” As Nowak continues to plead for help, officers pull him to the ground. The teenager shouts at least seven times that he cannot breathe, but is nevertheless ordered to put his hands behind his back. He spends his last moments as the police read him his rights and handcuff him on the sidewalk. Shortly afterwards he dies: he chokes on his own blood.
Deception
This fatal error of judgment was the result of deception by the perpetrator. Nowak had recently been stabbed in the center of Southampton, apparently without immediate cause, by 23-year-old Vickrum Digwa. The attacker used a 20 centimeter long ceremonial dagger for this purpose. Immediately after the crime, the killer told the police a lie: he claimed that he was the victim of a hate crime, and that Nowak had racially abused him and ripped off his turban.
The officers on the scene took the perpetrator at his word. This was partly due to a misleading emergency call from Digwa’s brother, who also mentioned a “racist attack”. So his family actively helped to cover up the truth. Before the police arrived, Digwa’s mother had walked to the crime scene to secure the bloody knife and hide it at home.
While the teenager lay bleeding to death, the officers calmly spoke to the perpetrator. The footage even shows Digwa – who was sentenced to 21 years in prison on Monday – assuring police that the student was not stabbed at all. “I know, but we still have to check,” a female officer replies.
“Unbearable”
For the surviving relatives, justice in court is only part of the story. After the murderer’s conviction, Nowak’s family strongly criticized the police for allowing the boy to die without dignity. Mark Nowak, the victim’s father, stated in a broken voice that “justice alone is not enough,” and that the way his son was treated compared to Digwa was “unbearable.”
The way he was treated was inhuman and degrading. His murderer, on the other hand, was treated decently. He was believed.
“Let me be very clear: we hold Vickrum Digwa solely and 100 percent responsible for the brutal murder of our son,” the father said. “But Henry should not have died on the streets of Southampton in police custody. The way he was treated was inhuman and degrading. His murderer, on the other hand, was treated decently. He was believed. He was not handcuffed when arrested […] As far as we know, he has never even been handcuffed.”
As family members wept outside court Monday, the father addressed his late son: “I want Henry to know, wherever he is, that we are so proud of him and that we love him more than words can express.” He called for a “full, fearless and transparent” investigation into police conduct.
Political storm
The case has now transcended the courtroom and has become a heated national and even international debate. Politicians are disgraceful about what has now been described as a “shocking example of two-tier policing” (with measuring two sizes and two weights, ed.)
Right-wing populist politician Nigel Farage, leader of Reform UK, shared the video on social media on Monday evening, describing it as “the most shocking images of discrimination you will ever see.” He criticized the silence from established politicians and the media in this case and stated that the fear of officers to be accused of racism has led to a fatal tunnel vision.
Former minister Robert Jenrick also shared the images, which he called “heartbreaking”, saying: “He was a victim but was treated like a criminal.” He also praised Henry Nowak’s “courageous” father.
Hampshire Police have now formally apologized to the Nowak family for wrongfully handcuffing and arresting the dying teenager. The independent police watchdog (IOPC) has launched a major investigation.