A shocking video showing British police officers arresting and handcuffing a university student as he lay dying from stab wounds has sparked outrage. The officers wrongly believed Henry Nowak, 18, a white accountancy and finance student, to be responsible for a racial attack. They treated his killer, a member of the Sikh community, as the victim.Distressing footage of the arrest in Southampton, recorded by police bodycam, has fuelled intense debate about policing, with claims the force gives preferential treatment to ethnic minorities. The case has also sparked riots and raised concerns of a deepening of divisions in British society. It has even strained transatlantic ties.US Vice-President J.D. Vance, in outrageous social media comments, blamed Nowak’s death on “the mass invasion of migrants”, adding that the only proper response “is righteous anger”. There is a need for calm reflection on the case and to bring people together, rather than sparking enmity.Nowak was brutally attacked while on his way home from a night out with friends. He was stabbed five times with a dagger. When police arrived, they found the teenager lying on the ground. He made heart-rending pleas to the officers, repeatedly telling them he had been stabbed. Nowak said, nine times, that he could not breathe. The officers did not seem to believe him.Nowak was arrested and handcuffed. He soon lost consciousness. The police appear to have jumped to the conclusion that his killer, Vickrum Digwa, 23, was telling the truth when he claimed to have been racially abused and assaulted by the student. But Digwa was lying. The actions of the officers are difficult to comprehend. It was an appalling error of judgment that must be thoroughly investigated. Lessons, as Prime Minister Keir Starmer has promised, need to be learned.Digwa was jailed for life, with a recommendation he serve a minimum of 21 years. Police found more than 20 weapons, including swords and machetes, when they searched his family home. Vance should note that the killer was not an immigrant. He was born in the UK and is British.