From Newsgroup: rec.food.cooking

Has the time come for the USA to accept white refugees from the UK like we
do from South Africa? It's open season on white men over there.

Murder victim told police 'I can't breathe' while handcuffed


Student Henry Nowak repeatedly told police officers "I can't breathe" as he lay dying in handcuffs after being stabbed, bodycam footage shows.

The 18-year-old Southampton student was handcuffed after killer Vickrum
Digwa, 23, lied to police at the scene of the 2025 stabbing, claiming he
had been the victim of a racist attack.

Footage released by the force, with permission from Nowak's family, shows
him pleading "I've been stabbed" and an officer replying "I don't think you have mate".

Nowak suffered stab wounds to his legs and a fatal wound to his heart from
a 21cm (8in) blade that Digwa said he carried as part of his Sikh faith. He was jailed for life with a minimum 21-year term.

The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) said an investigation into the police force's actions was ongoing.

Speaking in the House of Commons earlier, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood revealed a police officer unrelated to the case had been misidentified and forced to relocate in order to protect him and his family.

The attorney general's office is also considering the jail sentence given
to Digwa after receiving "multiple requests" to review it under the unduly lenient sentence (ULS) scheme.

Warning: This story contains details some may find upsetting

Nowak's family, from Chafford Hundred, Essex, called his treatment by
police "inhumane and degrading" and the force has apologised.

His father, Mark, said: "Henry told officers that he could not breathe nine times. He told them that he had been stabbed four times. Henry was pulled across the gravel, his hands forced behind his back and he was placed in handcuffs."

He said the contrast between how his son and Digwa had been treated was "unbearable".

"Henry should not have died on the streets of Southampton in police
custody," he added.

In the footage, a police officer arriving at the scene can be heard asking: "What's your name, mate?"

Nowak, who is lying on his back on the ground, faintly replies: "Henry."

As the video continues, Digwa steps into the frame. He claims Nowak had
taken his turban off and grabbed him by the hair.

The officer asks Digwa if he is injured, to which Digwa replies: "Yeah,
yeah, I've got a swollen eye here, a little bruise here."

Officers then turn to Nowak, who can be heard repeating "I've been
stabbed" and then "I can't breathe" while he is made to sit up to be handcuffed.
Contains some upsetting scenes.
Speaking outside court, Henry Nowak's father Mark said his son "did not die with dignity"

As the footage continues, the officer can be heard asking where Henry has
been stabbed. He then adds: "Don't think you have, mate."

While being handcuffed, Nowak says "I can't breathe" another three times.

The officer can be heard saying: "He says he's been stabbed, so let's just check him." He appears to briefly lift Nowak's shirt around the belt area before he is left to lie on his side.

A female officer can then be heard asking: "Where do you think he's been stabbed? In the face?"

A male voice replies: "He hasn't been stabbed."

Nowak, who seems unresponsive, is then told he is being arrested for
assault.

Hampshire police's Deputy Chief Constable Robert France said that within
three minutes of interacting with Nowak, the officers were starting to
perform CPR.

"This is a complete tragedy and I am sorry that they couldn't save Henry
that night and I'm sorry that Henry was handcuffed and arrested as he lost consciousness," he said.

"The pathologist who spoke in court was clear there was nothing officers
could have done that day to save Henry.

"His wound was deep and internal, the bleeding extensive but internal."
Police handout Custody photo of Vickrum Digwa, a man with a beard, a grey jumper and a purple turban looking to the camera.Police handout
Vickrum Digwa was jailed for life on Monday and told he would serve a
minimum of 21 years

Addressing the Commons, Mahmood said the stabbing was an "evil act" and she wanted to "pay tribute to the powerful words of the Nowak family".

She said the bodycam footage was a "disturbing and tragic thing to see".

"The IOPC will be equipped and encouraged to act to find the truth and to ensure, if necessary, that there are consequences," she said.

But she said there was a "dangerous undercurrent" in how some had reacted
to "this awful crime".

Sir Keir Starmer said that as a father of a 17-year-old he "felt sick" watching the footage.

He said there were "searching questions for the police that are going to
have to be answered".

It is "absolutely right" that the police watchdog investigate this, he
added.

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage said on social media that people should
respond with "pure cold rage" to the treatment of Nowak.

In a statement, he said that "Henry's family have responded to this in just the most extraordinarily dignified way" and claimed Britain has a "two tier culture where the rights and privileges of white people matter less than
those of ethnic minorities".

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch accused Farage of deepening divisions as
she argued police should treat everyone equally regardless of race.

Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey said it was "an evil murder made so much worse by the police response".

On Tuesday evening, several hundred of demonstrators gathered outside a Southampton police station.

The far-right activist Tommy Robinson was among the crowd, some of whom
were seen chanting and waving Union Flags.

Around 40 police officers stood at the entrance to the building and in the surrounding areas.

Police were later pelted with missiles as the protest moved to the streets near Digwa's home.

Hampshire and Isle of Wight Police and Crime Commissioner Donna Jones described Nowak's death as a "national tragedy".

The Conservative politician said she was meeting with his family and had written to the prime minster calling for an "urgent review on the carrying
of bladed articles for religious and ceremonial purposes".

Jones also said she had asked His Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary
and Fire & Rescue Services to examine the police response to the incident.

She said this should include the "culture and performance of the control
room" as well as training provided to frontline officers responding to
knife crime incidents.

A spokesman for the attorney general said: "We have received multiple
requests for Vickrum Digwa's sentence to be considered under the unduly lenient sentence scheme.

"The law officers have 28 days from sentencing to carefully consider the
case and make a decision."
Crown Prosecution Service A silver dagger is pictured from above. Its
handle it ivory in colour. Below the blade, which is pointing to the left,
is a ruler measuring its length.Crown Prosecution Service
The knife belonging to Vickrum Digwa that was used during the stabbing

Under current legislation, practising Sikhs have a legal defence for
wearing a small, curved blade, known as a kirpan, close to their body for religious purposes.

While Digwa had been wearing a traditional kirpan under his clothing, the weapon he used on Nowak was much bigger and he had worn it in a sheath on
top of his clothes.

When he asked his mother Kiran Kaur to take it away from the murder scene,
he described it as a "shastar", which is the Punjabi word for weapon.

Kaur is due to be sentenced for assisting an offender later this month.

The Sikh community has strongly condemned the killing and told the BBC
worries about Digwa's behaviour in the past had prompted them to bar him
from one of their places of worship in Southampton. It added this happened long before he murdered Nowak.

The Sikh Federation said the blade used by Digwa was not a kirpan, while
the Sikh Press Association added plans were in process to ensure every initiated Sikh in the UK was addressed directly regarding kirpan rules and responsibility.

In a statement, Digwa's family said they were "deeply sorry for the pain
and suffering the Nowak family has had to endure".

It continues: "We would give anything to turn back time so the path of both Henry and Vickrum never crossed that night. We cannot change what has happened, we just hope that no further pain is caused in its name."

The family added it "apologises to the Sikh community for our son's actions which have unfairly brought the community into disrepute" and asked that
the "tragedy is not used to inflame division or hostility".

The officers who were called to the murder scene are still being treated as witnesses by the IOPC.

IOPC director Derrick Campbell said: "We acknowledge that this case has
raised questions about the actions of the attending officers and we are
aware that a few minutes of police body-worn footage has been issued by the force following the conclusion of criminal proceedings.

"As part of our ongoing investigation we are reviewing a large amount of police body-worn footage, which we need to consider in context with other evidence we have obtained, including reviewing material presented during
the murder trial, as we establish the full circumstances."

Digwa appeared at Southampton Magistrates' Court earlier alongside his
father, Moga Singh, 52, and his brother, Gurpreet Digwa, 27, who are on
bail. They are each charged with six counts of possessing an offensive
weapon in a private place.
--- Synchronet 3.21d-Linux NewsLink 1.2