Henry Nowak murder: Police apologise for handcuffing stabbing victim while he was dying

Police officers have apologized after handcuffing a fatally wounded man despite him saying he had been stabbed.

Elon Musk has now offered to fund a private investigation against the UK police force.

Vickrum Digwa’s trial for the murder of 18-year-old Henry Nowak in Southampton heard the teenager collapsed and subsequently died after suffering a fatal stab wound to the chest.

The court was told Hampshire Constabulary officers handcuffed Digwa after he said he was the victim of Mr Nowak’s racist attack.

Officers moved to arrest and handcuff Mr. Nowak, even though he said he had been stabbed.

However, when he fainted and lost consciousness, officers began providing first aid.

Digwa was found guilty of murder by jurors on Thursday.

The officers’ actions are currently being investigated by the Independent Office for Police Conduct.

US tech billionaire Elon Musk has said he is willing to fund a private investigation against the agency.

He posted on X: “Unreasonable. Happy to fund a wrongful death lawsuit against these disgusting excuses from law enforcement. They better be fired.”

Following the lawsuit, interim Deputy Chief Constable Robert France apologized on behalf of the officers but said they had been “lied to” and were unaware of Mr Nowak’s injury, which would not have been obvious.

He said: “This is an absolutely tragic incident and I certainly sympathize with Henry’s family, friends and loved ones.

“I want to apologize, I want to say I’m sorry Henry couldn’t be saved that night. I’m sorry he was handcuffed and arrested in the moments before he lost consciousness.”

“It’s clear that the officers didn’t immediately understand what was happening, and that’s one of the contexts that I would ask people to understand.

“There was a delay in those who eventually chose to call them.

“There were lies, there were lies from Henry’s killer in the 999 phone call, there were other lies from his killer when the cops arrived at the scene.

“Although Henry told the cops he had been stabbed, it took them a few minutes to realize what had actually happened.

“But three minutes after meeting Henry, they were giving him first aid. They had the handcuffs off and were giving him first aid.”

He added: “The next day we immediately referred ourselves to the Independent Police Conduct Office and they have been investigating independently ever since.

“We are absolutely committed to acting on their findings.

“It’s clear to me that the circumstances were complex. For example, Henry’s significant wound, the wound that was fatal, was deep and visceral.

“The pathologist was clear in court that this would be difficult to find. “The bleeding was all over Henry’s body.

“Unfortunately, there was nothing officers could do to save him that night.”

He added: “We should always listen to anyone who tells us they’ve been injured. “Of course we’ll look at that and we’ll look at what we can include in our training, particularly first aid training, to improve our officers’ response and we want to improve day by day.

“This is an absolute tragedy and of course if there’s anything we can learn from this, we will.”

Mr France would not confirm whether police had received any notice of prosecution in the case.

He said: “These are private matters for the family and others. What I can say is that we are certainly open to any challenge or scrutiny that may come.”

“The police must be transparent, they must be open. All I ask is that people take into account all the facts of the case.”

Mr. France said police had contacted the Sikh and university communities on issues related to the case, including the carrying of kirpans, Sikh ceremonial knives similar to the one used to kill Mr. Nowak.

He said: “The law on the transportation of kirpans is very clear and we have issued a directive to all officers to make sure that where people are breaking this law, regardless of who they are or what community they come from, if someone is breaking the law then officers will take action.

“We pride ourselves on the way we engage with all communities and have been involved with that community since this happened, just as we have with the university community and the wider Southampton community where Henry comes from.

“And in that interaction we will of course cover any issues that may be relevant, including law.”

An IOPC spokesman said: “Our thoughts and condolences are with the family of Henry Nowak and everyone affected by his death.

“We are independently investigating the contact between Hampshire and Isle of Wight police officers with Mr Nowak before his death on 4 December, including the use of handcuffs and first aid provided by officers.

“Our investigation, which began following a mandatory police referral we received the same day, is ongoing and the officers involved are currently being treated as witnesses.”