The British police watchdog has opened a gross misconduct investigation into two officers who handcuffed and arrested Henry Nowak as the 18-year-old student lay dying from stab wounds.
The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) said on July 1 that both officers, the first to reach the scene in Southampton, southern England, on December 3, 2025, may have breached professional standards covering their duties, use of force and conduct.
Nowak was walking home after a night out when he was stabbed five times by Vickrum Digwa, a British-born Sikh, who then falsely told police he had been the victim of a racist attack.
Officers accepted that account and treated Nowak as a suspect rather than a victim. Body-camera footage released with his family’s permission showed him telling officers he had been stabbed and could not breathe.
One officer was recorded replying, “Don’t think you have, mate,” before the teenager was handcuffed. He was pronounced dead a short time later.
Digwa, 23, was jailed for life in June with a minimum term of 21 years. He had used a 21cm kirpan, a ceremonial dagger that Sikhs are permitted to carry under a religious exemption to Britain’s knife laws.
The watchdog said it would investigate potential failures to recognise that Nowak needed urgent medical care and the decision to restrain him rather than provide first aid. It would also examine the actions of control room staff.
Investigators would look at whether the race or religion of Nowak or the Digwa family had influenced the officers’ decisions, and whether their judgment had been shaped by community tensions at the time.
IOPC director of engagement Derrick Campbell said public confidence in the force may have been seriously harmed. He added that serving misconduct notices did not necessarily mean disciplinary proceedings would follow.
The case has fuelled a bitter national debate over claims of “two-tier policing” and prompted protests in Southampton after Digwa’s sentencing.
Nowak’s father Mark has condemned the “inhumane and degrading” treatment of his son, though he urged that the death not be used to stir division. He has also questioned why Digwa had been allowed to carry an eight-inch blade in public.
Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary said it continued to co-operate fully with the independent investigation. The two officers have been removed from public-facing duties.
Digwa’s sentence has since been referred to the Court of Appeal as unduly lenient.
