Newly released evidence has revealed an eight-minute delay in police officers identifying that white teenager Henry Nowak had been stabbed in the chest.
| PULSE POINTS |
❓ WHAT HAPPENED: Newly released evidence has revealed that officers who wrongfully arrested white teenager Henry Nowak took around eight minutes to discover he had been stabbed after initially treating him as a suspect following a false report by killer Vickrum Digwa, 23, that he had been racist. Notably, Nowak had told officers he had been stabbed before they handcuffed him, but they refused to believe him. 📺 DETAIL: A longer transcript of police body-worn camera footage from the murder in Southampton, England, last December shows Nowak repeatedly telling officers, “I’ve been stabbed,” only for one of them to respond, “I don’t think you have, mate.” After Nowak’s condition rapidly deteriorated after the officers pinned him on his side and handcuffed him, the finally began CPR after realizing he was no longer breathing. The transcript shows officers discussing the possibility of a stab wound before cutting open his clothing more than seven minutes into the recording and discovering a wound to his chest. One officer remarks, “That makes it worse. He’s got a stab… I’m pushing on a f****** stab wound,” while continuing chest compressions until paramedics arrived. Hampshire Constabulary’s temporary Deputy Chief Constable Robert France offered a guarded apology to Nowak’s family, saying officers had been “lied to” by Digwa and his relatives and insisting that the injury was not obvious at the scene, despite the fact Nowak had told them he was wounded. The Independent Office for Police Conduct is investigating Hampshire Police’s response, while a jury inquest next year will examine whether any police actions or omissions contributed to Mr Nowak’s death. 💬 KEY QUOTE: “I want to apologize, I want to say that I am sorry that Henry couldn’t be saved that night,” said temporary Deputy Chief Constable Robert France of Hampshire Constabulary, implying that the teenager would have died regardless of his officers’ mistreating him. 📺 FLASHBACK: Vickrum Digwa, the murderer, was sentenced to “life” imprisonment with a minimum term of just 21 years before the possibility of parole. The sentence is being appealed as unduly lenient, following successful lobbying by Reform UK leader Nigel Farage and others. |
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