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Newly released bodycam footage from U.K. authorities shows the jarring moment Henry Nowak, an 18-year-old student, was handcuffed despite being mortally wounded. The video has sparked widespread anger and intense political debate.
On Monday, a judge sentenced 23-year-old Vickrum Digwa to at least 21 years in prison for stabbing Nowak to death in Southampton with an 8-inch (21 centimeters) ceremonial knife.
According to an article by New Straits Times, Digwa claimed he was permitted to carry the blade due to exemptions for Sikhs to have ceremonial daggers.
After the attack, Digwa lied to police, claiming his turban had been knocked off, his eye was injured, and that Nowak had racially abused him.
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The newly released footage from the December incident reveals that police initially believed the killer's false accusations.
Officers handcuffed a bleeding Nowak even as he told them he had been stabbed and repeatedly gasped, "I can't breathe." In the recording, an officer can be heard asking Nowak, "You've been stabbed, whereabouts?" before dismissing the teen's plea by saying, "Don't think you have, mate."
Nowak's family called his treatment by police "inhumane and degrading." However, in a statement outside court, his father urged calm, stating his son's death should not be "used to create further division, hatred or tension."
Despite this plea, the case has ignited heavy political friction. Prime Minister Keir Starmer condemned the "awful, shocking case," confirming that the independent police complaints watchdog is now investigating the officers' response.
Tech billionaire Elon Musk also reacted, posting an offer on X to fund a private prosecution against the police.
Meanwhile, Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, whose anti-immigration party leads opinion polls, claimed the case shows that equal treatment under the law has been thrown away.
"The fear of being called racist was greater than dealing with Henry Nowak's murder," Farage said, arguing it was an example of the rights of ethnic minorities trumping those of white British people.
Calling for a sharp change in culture, he demanded an end to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies and positive discrimination.
As the political debate intensifies, legal proceedings continue. Digwa, his brother, and a third individual appeared in court on weapons offenses, while Digwa's mother faces sentencing in July for assisting an offender by hiding the weapon.
Tensions remain high on the ground, with a protest expected in Southampton on Tuesday evening and others advertised online for later this week.
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