Demonstrators clashed with police in Southampton after newly released footage showed 18-year-old Henry Nowak telling officers he had been stabbed and could not breathe before he died.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
A protest in Southampton has intensified public scrutiny over the death of 18-year-old Henry Nowak after newly released bodycam footage showed officers handcuffing the teenager while he was bleeding from stab wounds and saying he could not breathe.
The case has drawn outrage in the United Kingdom after reports said Nowak had been stabbed five times, including in the heart, before police detained him at the scene. Demonstrators later confronted police in Southampton, with video of the protest circulating through social media and additional online footage.
Bodycam video from the arrest showed an officer questioning Nowak after he was restrained. When asked what happened, Nowak responded, “I’ve been stabbed.”
The officer then asked, “You’ve been stabbed? Where abouts? I don’t think you have, mate.”
Nowak later died from his injuries. Footage from the arrest was also shared in another post that fueled criticism of the police response.
The man accused in connection with the stabbing was identified in the report as 23-year-old Vickrum Digwa, described as a Sikh man who was reportedly permitted to carry a knife for religious reasons. The stabbing occurred in December, according to the report.
The report said Digwa told police at the scene that he was the victim of racially motivated “hate speech” by Nowak. Police then handcuffed Nowak instead of Digwa, according to the account.
Not the Bee reported that Digwa’s brother later called 999, Britain’s emergency number, to repeat the claim that Nowak had engaged in racially motivated hate speech.
“After the murder, Vickrum’s brother called 999 (Britain’s emergency number) to repeat the lie that Henry was guilty of racially motivated hate speech.
“While police were on the scene, Vickrum’s mother ran back home with the knife to wash off the blood.
“The Sikh community then closed ranks around the murderer, protecting one of their own.
“Nigel Farage, the leader of Reform UK, told the British people they need to respond to this new footage with ‘pure, cold rage.’”
The case also drew attention in the United States after Fox News host Will Cain interviewed Winston Marshall, a banjoist with Mumford and Sons and a political commentator, about the incident on Tuesday.
“An ideology has been cultivated over years which is frankly anti-white, which is explicit – you can read it,” Marshall said. “It is explicitly racist in the documents. That’s what this anti-racism has always been.
“In this ideology, white people cannot be victims of racism.”
Video of Marshall’s remarks was shared in a separate social media post.
Sky News in the U.K. reported Tuesday that the arresting officer in the case has resigned.
The release of the arrest footage has intensified criticism over how police handled the initial response, including why the wounded teenager was restrained after saying he had been stabbed. The case has also become a flashpoint in a wider debate over policing, race, religious exemptions and public trust in Britain’s criminal justice system.
Original article
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