Two police officers who arrested Henry Nowak and handcuffed him as he repeatedly told them he had been stabbed and could not breathe are under investigation for potential gross misconduct, the Independent Office for Police Conduct has confirmed.
The 18-year-old university student was stabbed multiple times on the evening of 3 December 2025, but Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary officers who arrived at the scene treated him as a suspect and restrained him with his hands behind his back rather than providing first aid. While Nowak told officers he had been stabbed and was struggling to breathe, one officer responded: “Don’t think you have, mate.” His killer, Vickrum Digwa, was treated at the scene as a victim of racist abuse. Nowak died as a result of his stab wounds.
A spokesman for the Independent Office for Police Conduct said: “The evidence indicates that both officers — who were the first to arrive at the scene late in the evening of December 3 2025 — may have potentially breached the professional behaviour standards of duties and responsibilities, use of force and discreditable conduct. These relate to potential failures by the officers to recognise that Henry needed urgent medical attention, to immediately act after he said he had been stabbed and he couldn’t breathe, and the decision to arrest and handcuff Henry rather than provide immediate first aid. There’s also an indication one of the officers may have breached the standard relating to authority, respect and courtesy, for appearing to dismiss Henry saying he had been stabbed.”
The investigation has been made more pointed by a further revelation disclosed last week: that Digwa, who was arrested on suspicion of murder, was not handcuffed at any point during his four days in custody — in stark contrast to the treatment of his victim in the moments before his death.
Digwa was sentenced at the start of June to a minimum of 21 years in prison for Nowak’s murder.
