{"id":11667,"date":"2026-06-02T19:31:41","date_gmt":"2026-06-02T19:31:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=11667"},"modified":"2026-06-02T19:31:41","modified_gmt":"2026-06-02T19:31:41","slug":"uk-police-handcuffed-teen-who-died-from-stab-wound-in-a-case-stirring-race-and-policing-debate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=11667","title":{"rendered":"UK police handcuffed teen who died from stab wound in a case stirring race and policing debate"},"content":{"rendered":"

By BRIAN MELLEY<\/strong><\/p>\n

LONDON (AP) \u2014 The fatal stabbing of a British teenager who was handcuffed by police while his killer stood nearby erupted into a debate Tuesday about policing, race and knife crime.<\/p>

Read more Orange County\u2019s Truly Pizza ranked 4th best pizza in the U.S., according to guide<\/a><\/p>\n

The killing of Henry Nowak, 18, happened in December, but the story got renewed attention after the killer was sentenced to life with a minimum of 21 years in prison Monday, and video was released that showed police not believing Nowak when he said that he had been stabbed.<\/p>\n

The killer, Vickrum Digwa, 23, who is Sikh, had reported to police that he was the victim of a racist attack by Nowak, who was white.<\/p>\n

Officers who arrived at the scene on a residential street in the southern England coastal city of Southampton appeared to take him at his word. But the court determined that Digwa had lied about being the victim of racism.<\/p>\n

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he was sickened by the video and said there were questions to be answered about how \u201caccusations of racism informed the decision-making in this case.\u201d<\/p>\n

A large group of people gathered outside a Southampton police station to protest Nowak\u2019s death.<\/p>\n

Victim complains he can\u2019t breathe as police handcuff him<\/h4>\n

The university student, who was lying on his back, told police he had been stabbed as they grabbed his wrists and tried to make him sit up. He repeatedly said he couldn\u2019t breathe.<\/p>

\n<\/div>\n

\u201cYou\u2019ve been stabbed? Whereabouts?\u201d an officer said in the video. \u201cDon\u2019t think you have, mate.\u201d<\/p>\n

After the sentencing hearing, the victim\u2019s father, Mark Nowak, said that the case wasn\u2019t about racism or religion, and he wanted his son\u2019s death to lead to safer streets and not be used to create \u201cfurther division, hatred or tension.\u201d<\/p>\n

But Nigel Farage, leader of the anti-immigrant Reform UK party, said on Tuesday that it was an example of so-called two-tier policing \u2014 a popular far-right talking point that suggests ethnic minorities are better treated than white people.<\/p>\n

Farage said that people should respond to the incident with \u201cpure cold rage,\u201d and he called for an end to \u201canti-white prejudice,\u201d and the promotion of the idea \u201cthat white lives matter just as much as Black lives.\u201d<\/p>

\n<\/div>\n

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood rejected that there are different policing standards for different communities and urged members of Parliament not to \u201callow this murder to turn communities against one another.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mahmood said that she understood people\u2019s horror over video of the tragic death, and said that the government is trying to sharply reduce knife crime.<\/p>\n