Newly released police bodycam footage has laid bare the outrageous behaviour of Hampshire officers responding to the brutal murder of university student Henry Nowak on 3 December 2025. In one damning clip, the killer, Vickrum Singh Digwa, is seen calmly complaining to police that he has been "racially attacked", moaning about being tired and the flashing lights hurting his eyes.
An officer responds with sickening sympathy: "I know, mate, I know" and reassures him, "I'm not saying you've done anything, mate". Digwa was never handcuffed at the scene.
Meanwhile, just feet away, the real victim – 18-year-old Henry Nowak, was being treated as the aggressor.
Bodycam from the scene shows the young student, a first-year accountancy and finance student at the University of Southampton, lying on the ground after being stabbed five times with a large dagger. He can be heard desperately telling officers: "I've been stabbed" and "I can't breathe", repeated multiple times.
Instead of immediate medical help, officers handcuffed him behind his back, formally arrested him for assault, and read him his rights. One officer is heard dismissing him with the now-infamous line: "Don't think you have, mate."
Henry lost consciousness while in handcuffs. He died at the scene from his injuries, including a fatal chest wound that caused massive internal bleeding. He did not die with dignity. He died in police custody, treated like a criminal because his attacker spun a story about racism.
Digwa and his brother had called 999, claiming Henry had racially abused them and knocked off a turban. Officers bought it hook, line and sinker. The killer was afforded decency and belief. The victim was not.
Vickrum Singh Digwa was later convicted of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 21 years. The judge made clear the stabbing was deliberate. Digwa even filmed Henry suffering afterwards.
Henry's father, Mark Nowak, delivered a powerful and dignified statement after the sentencing. He described the police treatment of his son as "inhumane and degrading" and said the contrast with how the killer was handled was "unbearable". "Instead of being treated as a dying victim, police formally arrested Henry for assault and read him his rights. That was the last thing he heard. Henry did not die with dignity."
The family has rightly called for a full, transparent investigation. Hampshire Police have referred themselves to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), but many are asking: how many more scandals like this before real accountability?
This case has ignited fury across the country for good reason. It reeks of the two-tier policing that has become all too familiar, where claims of racism from certain groups are prioritised over basic common sense and the preservation of life.
Knife crime continues to destroy young lives on our streets, yet here the response to a clear stabbing victim was to cuff him while believing the perpetrator's self-serving lies.
Protests have erupted in Southampton and beyond. Ordinary people are sick of seeing British citizens failed by the very institutions meant to protect them. Political correctness and fear of "racism" accusations appear to have paralysed proper policing once again.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he "felt sick" watching the footage. Strong words, but what concrete action will follow? Will there be a proper overhaul of training, culture, and priorities in forces like Hampshire?
Henry Nowak was just 18. He was walking home after a night out with friends. He should have been safe. Instead, he was murdered, and then failed in his final moments by officers who had the evidence right in front of them but chose to believe the wrong person.
The bodycam footage doesn't lie. It shows a system that got its priorities catastrophically wrong. Henry deserved better. His family deserves answers. And the British public deserves police who protect victims first – not the other way around.
