Female ex-police officer is forced to move to a safe house after being wrongly accused of arresting Henry Nowak

A former female police officer was forced to move to a safe house after she was falsely identified online as being involved in the Henry Nowak murder case.

The name and photo of Christi Hill, who served as a police officer for 12 years, was accused of being a ‘murderer’ on social media.

The former police officer under fire has now accused Hampshire Constabulary of a ‘blatant lack of support’ to ‘straighten out’ the situation as he sought shelter in a safe area fearing for his safety.

Mr Nowak, 18, was handcuffed by police as he lay dying on the ground after being stabbed by Vickrum Digwa, 23, in December last year and was falsely accused of being a racist.

The victim told police he had been stabbed and couldn’t breathe, but the officers who detained him did not believe it.

Meanwhile, Digwa, who was sentenced to 21 years in prison for murder on Monday, was not even handcuffed when he was taken into custody.

Anger has reached boiling point over the horrific incident, with false claims made online about the identity of the arresting police officers.

Henry Nowak, 18, was a finance student at the University of Southampton and was described by his family as ‘kind and talented’.

Police body camera footage shows innocent 18-year-old victim Henry Nowak being forcibly handcuffed by police officers after he was stabbed multiple times by a knife-obsessed Sikh man.

Anti-police protesters took to the streets of Southampton yesterday to show their anger at the police’s treatment of Mr Nowak in the face of allegations of double-dealing policing.

Hampshire Constabulary said they would not release the names of the officers involved.

The online allegations include falsely accusing Ms. Hill and another officer.

This comes after Home Affairs Minister Shabana Mahmood said yesterday that a male police officer was misidentified as one of those involved and was forced to leave his home.

The damaging claims have now also been published on the artificial intelligence platform Grok.

Ms Hill had served as an officer in Portsmouth for 12 years before leaving the force in April 2024 (20 months before the murder took place).

Now he has issued a statement saying: ‘I write this with a heavy heart, both out of deep sorrow for a tragic event and out of the necessity to protect my reputation, safety and peace of mind.

‘Today my name and picture have spread widely on social media and now on AI platforms such as Grok, falsely identifying me as one of the officers who arrested me in the Henry Nowak case.

‘Obviously I was not involved in this incident. I actually left Hampshire Constabulary in April 2024.

‘The tragic events involving Henry Nowak occurred in December 2025.

Killer Vickrum Digwa is seen lying to police when he says he ripped off the teenager’s hijab during a racist attack

A photograph released by the Crown Prosecution Service shows the eight-inch ceremonial dagger used by Digwa

Killer Digwa lied to police at the scene, telling officers Mr Nowak had not been stabbed but had instead attacked him.

‘The confusion stems from the national police bravery award press release. A photo of me and a former colleague being unfairly targeted is repeatedly shared and misattributed to this case.

‘It is alarming to see how quickly an outdated piece of media can be weaponized by algorithms and accepted as fact by AI platforms, even though it is impossible in reality.

It is extremely disturbing that my name has been inadvertently added to such a high-profile and sensitive issue when there is a clear lack of support from Hampshire Constabulary to correct this false narrative in a timely manner.

‘My thoughts remain with the family affected by this tragedy. They deserve justice and openness, not the noise of misinformation online.

‘I ask my network to help share this statement.’

The former officer’s mother, Nikki Hill, added: ‘It was heartbreaking to see his name and face on the internet.’

A spokesman for Hampshire Constabulary said: ‘We know that significant comments have been made following the sentencing of Vickrum Digwa and we recognize the desire for answers about the police response that night.

‘However, we cannot accept the significant spread of misinformation online by those intent on causing further fear and division by issuing threats to officers and sharing names that are simply untrue.

‘A police officer unrelated to this case was misidentified online and subjected to death threats.

‘The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) is continuing its independent investigation into our response on the night in question, following our self-referral the following day.

‘We would ask people to avoid harmful speculation online as this progresses.’