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Police Chief Apologizes As Fatal Stabbing Of Student Sparks UK Outrage
by Stefan J. Bos, Worthy News Europe Bureau Chief
LONDON (Worthy News) – The police chief of England’s coastal Hampshire county apologized Wednesday to the family of Henry Nowak after the student was handcuffed and arrested as he lay dying, in a case that has shocked the nation and underscored racial and religious tensions across the UK.
Chief Constable Alexis Boon said he was “distressed” by bodycam footage showing the 18-year-old repeatedly telling officers he had been stabbed and could not breathe.
A video released with the permission of Nowak’s family showed officers arresting the teenager after his attacker, Vickrum Digwa, who is Sikh, falsely claimed he had been racially abused by the victim.
Acting on Digwa’s allegation and believing Nowak may have been involved in an assault, officers treated the wounded student as a suspect before the circumstances of the stabbing became clear.
FOOTAGE SPARKS OUTRAGE
“I’m so sorry you’ve had to go through this,” Boon told the family through an interview with broadcaster BBC, while reiterating an apology on behalf of Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary.
Nowak, a British student of Polish heritage in Southampton, suffered stab wounds to his legs and a fatal wound to the heart during the December 2025 attack.
Bodycam footage showed him repeatedly saying, “I’ve been stabbed” and “I can’t breathe,” while officers questioned his account and placed him in handcuffs.
His father, Mark Nowak, described the treatment as “inhumane and degrading,” saying his son told officers he could not breathe nine times before losing consciousness.
MURDER CASE
Digwa, 23, was sentenced Monday to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 21 years for murder.
Boon said he would not resign over the case and declined to prejudge an ongoing investigation by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) into the officers’ actions.
Deputy Chief Constable Robert France said officers began CPR and provided medical assistance within minutes of interacting with Nowak, adding that medical evidence presented in court suggested the teenager’s internal injuries were unsurvivable.
The case has triggered political debate across Britain. Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he felt “sick” watching the footage and supported the watchdog investigation, while Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood called the images “disturbing and tragic.”
POLITICAL REACTION
Several hundred demonstrators later gathered outside a Southampton police station, with some protests turning confrontational.
The IOPC said its investigation remains ongoing and that the officers involved are currently being treated as witnesses. The case has also drawn renewed attention to tensions involving race, religion, and policing in Britain.
Digwa told officers he had been the victim of a racist attack, a claim rejected by prosecutors, while the murder prompted debate over the carrying of bladed articles for religious purposes.
Sikh organizations strongly condemned the killing, stressing that the weapon used was not a traditional kirpan, a ceremonial sword carried by some observant Sikhs as an article of faith, and warning against blaming the wider Sikh community for the actions of one individual.
Sikhs are among Britain’s largest religious minority communities, with an estimated population of about 500,000.
Copyright 1999-2026 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
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