Distressing body-worn camera footage released by Hampshire Police has sparked widespread outrage after showing officers completely misreading the situation and ignoring pleas by the fatally wounded Henry Nowak for help.
Images show officers handcuffing the 18-year-old university student Nowak as he lay bleeding to death from multiple stab wounds, while initially believing false accusations made by his killer.
The footage, made public yesterday following the sentencing of Vickrum Singh Digwa, 23, at Southampton Crown Court, captures Nowak repeatedly telling officers “I’ve been stabbed” and “I can’t breathe.”
One officer is heard replying, “Don’t think you have, mate.”
Although Nowak looked very weak and pale due to his stab wounds, including one to his lung, and posed no threat whatsoever the police decided to handcuff the young man anyway.
Nowak laid handcuffed on the ground while eventually receiving first aid, then died at the scene on December 3, 2025 in Portswood, Southampton.
Despite Nowak obviously being in distress, as he was bleeding to death, the officers ignored his pleas over fake racism accusations by his murderer, which seemed more important to them.
The police did ask the murderer if he was injured. He said he was and had a swollen eye, though this wasn’t clear based on the images.
🇬🇧 Bodycam footage has been released showing Henry Nowak begging for an ambulance before being handcuffed behind his back.
Nowak: "I've been stabbed"
Officer: "I don't think you have mate"
Follow: @europa pic.twitter.com/WqYV760Y14
— Europa.com (@europa) June 1, 2026
At one point a female police officer says “we have to check, don’t we” regarding Nowak’s wounds, and superficially starts looking.
Another male officers held him on his side during that process, and informs the dying Nowak that he is under arrest for assault and starts to read him his rights.
Digwa, who stabbed Nowak five times with a 21cm ceremonial knife, falsely claimed the teenager had racially abused him. He was yesterday sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 21 years after being convicted of murder.
Hampshire Police have apologised, stating officers were initially “misled at the scene” and failed to immediately identify Nowak’s injuries in what they described as a chaotic situation. The force said life-saving aid was provided “as quickly as possible” once the extent of his wounds became clear.
However, the footage shows they missed many cues to act.
The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) has launched an independent investigation into the officers’ actions, including the decision to handcuff Nowak and the standard of first aid given.
Nowak’s family has called for a “full, fearless and transparent” inquiry, with his father describing the treatment as “inhumane”.
UK Prime Minister spoke for the first time about the case after the verdict on Digwa was pronounced. On X he said it was “an awful, shocking case”. He also connected it to knife crime.
“Henry’s loved ones have gone through the trauma of a long trial and endured Henry’s killer making up appalling claims about their son who was thoughtful, kind and deeply loved. It is right that the IOPC is investigating the police’s response to his senseless murder. And we must end the cycle of tragedy by tackling the horror of knife crime”, Starmer said.
His government will also address the issue in the Parliament.
This morning, Reform UK leader Nigel Farrage issued an “emergency address to the nation” regarding the released footage.
He said it was “proof we live in a two-tier country”.
“Enough of anti-white prejudice. A promotion of the idea that white lives matter just as much as black lives. This is serious. This is urgent,” Farage said.
The fear of being called racist was greater than dealing with Henry Nowak’s murder.
We should respond to this with pure cold rage.
Britain’s historic way of life is being thrown away. pic.twitter.com/4N6vL76q1F
— Nigel Farage MP (@Nigel_Farage) June 2, 2026
Rupert Lowe, leader of the Restore UK party said “Young white British men are bleeding to death in the street as a direct result of our racist establishment. I will never forget, and I will never forgive.”
“Henry Nowak is one of thousands and thousands and thousands. Innocent young men and women put through the most unimaginable pain, because our country has failed to do what needs to be done. Because children have been sacrificed to death in order to appease foreign cultures that have no place in our country. ”
Kemi Badenoch, leader of the Conservatives, said; “I don’t want to hear about Black Lives Matter. I don’t want to hear about White Lives Matter. Everyone matters. Henry Nowak matters.”
She said policing had overcorrected its policies after the George Floyd events, being overly focussed on racism and not on policing. She also wanted to restore equality under the law.
Badenoch warned that the UK was devolving into tribalism.
Former Attorney General Sir Michael Ellis told GB News that the case adds to a series of disasters by the British police, stressing that no one called an ambulance while Nowak repeatedly stated he was stabbed. He also questioned why Nowak was handcuffed, which is not the standard procedure and he obviously wasn’t a threat.
Former Superintendent at Police Scotland, Martin Gallagher, told the same news channel that police officers are being indoctrinated by DEI training.
Labour MP Jonathan Pinder, an ex-police officer himself, told the BBC he also didn’t understand why Nowak was handcuffed nor why they didn’t immediately administer first aid. Pinder noted they seemed indifferent to the situation.
Despite the huge outrage about the death of Nowak, mainstream/left-leaning outlets have been very minimal in their reporting about the story, focusing narrowly on the murder conviction and the IOPC investigation.
Vickrum Digwa's family disrupted his sentencing hearing by shouting at Henry Nowak's family, calling the judge racist, and had to be restrained by court security.
The same thing happens in grooming gang trials. The families of the perpetrators yell "I love you dad!" despite… https://t.co/XnzA14y3BA pic.twitter.com/mD6t0OfoQZ
— Connor Tomlinson (@Con_Tomlinson) June 1, 2026
