British police have come under fire after an 18-year-old student, Henry Nowak, was handcuffed while stabbed and died last December. The perpetrator lied to police and said the victim had attacked him. He was sentenced to life imprisonment on Monday.
Sky News reported on Tuesday that one of the officers involved has resigned. Three other officers involved are still on duty.
Footage from the police bodycam in Southampton shows the victim lying in the street and saying: ‘I’ve been stabbed’ and ‘I can’t breathe’. A police officer responded with, “I don’t think so, buddy.”
Ceremonial dagger
The perpetrator is a Sikh, a religious minority, most of whom live in India. He stabbed the victim with a knife that he said he was allowed to carry because of the exceptions for Sikhs to own ceremonial daggers.
His family actively helped to cover up the truth. Before the police arrived on the scene, the perpetrator’s mother ran to the crime scene to secure the bloody knife and hide it at home.
Images
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he felt ‘sick’ watching the footage. Nigel Farage, leader of anti-immigration party Reform, called the case an example of how the rights of ethnic minorities outweigh those of white Britons.
The images of the arrest are causing anger at home and abroad. The police received a flood of criticism on Tuesday, especially from the extreme right. A large group of people gathered outside Hampshire police station on Tuesday to demonstrate against police actions. Elon Musk is also getting involved X with the case. The tech billionaire is willing to finance a lawsuit against the police.
The Hampshire police force is under investigation by police watchdog IOPC.
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