LONDON (AP) — 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.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.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.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.Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he was sickened by the video and said there were questions to be answered about how “accusations of racism informed the decision-making in this case.”A large group of people gathered outside a Southampton police station to protest Nowak’s death.
Victim complains he can’t breathe as police handcuff himThe 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’t breathe.“You’ve been stabbed? Whereabouts?” an officer said in the video. “Don’t think you have, mate.”After the sentencing hearing, the victim’s father, Mark Nowak, said that the case wasn’t about racism or religion, and he wanted his son’s death to lead to safer streets and not be used to create “further division, hatred or tension.”
