https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v3moi6e-Ipk&t=1
“The way the police treated Henry was inhumane and degrading,” said Henry Nowak’s father, Mark, after the trial of his son’s murderer, Vikram Digwa: “The murderer was believed and was not handcuffed, as Henry was while he was dying and repeatedly said that he had been stabbed,” said the father in the presence of Henry’s mother and sister outside Southampton Crown Court on Monday.
Mark Nowak’s statement to the public is reproduced here in full:
I am Henry Nowak’s father. To my left stands my daughter, Olivia Nowak, Henry’s eldest sister. And to her left stands Lucy Ross, Henry Nowak’s mother.
The jury confirmed what we have always known. Henry’s life was taken from him unlawfully, with violence and without reason. Henry was 18 years old. He was kind, ambitious, loved, and full of promise. He had his whole life ahead of him. An education to complete, places to experience, and a future to build. That future was stolen from him, and no verdict or sentence will ever give it back. Henry did nothing wrong. He was one of the kindest, friendliest and most inclusive people one could hope to meet. He was wonderful in every way.
On 3 December last year, Henry was on his way home from a night out with his university football teammates when he encountered Vikram Digwa, a man openly carrying a large knife on the streets of Britain. That knife was used to take Henry’s life. He should have been safe on his journey home. Instead, he became yet another young life lost to the brutal reality of knife crime in this country. Henry had been stabbed multiple times, and while his chest was filling with blood, he tried to escape. He was chased, assaulted and filmed by Vikram Digwa and others.
When the police arrived, Henry was lying on the ground, barely able to sit up and clearly in severe medical distress. With his final words, he told the police officers that he could not breathe. He told them that he had been stabbed. In fact, Henry told the police officers that he could not breathe nine times. He told them that he had been stabbed four times. One police officer’s response was: “I don’t think so, mate.”
The police have said that they were misled by the murderer and that the situation when they arrived was complex. Unfortunately, it appears to us that the truth is much simpler. The police were told by our son himself and by a member of the public who called 999 that they had heard someone shouting that they had been stabbed. But the police did not believe them. Henry was dragged across the gravel, his hands were forced behind his back, and he was placed in handcuffs. Instead of being treated as a dying victim, the police formally arrested Henry for assault and read him his rights. That was the last thing he heard.
Henry did not die with dignity. He did not die with the care he deserved. He lost consciousness before anyone believed him. Let me be absolutely clear. We hold Vikram Digwa alone and 100 per cent responsible for the brutal murder of our son. But Henry should not have died on the streets of Southampton while in police custody. The way he was treated was inhumane and degrading.
His murderer, by contrast, was treated with decency. He was believed. He was not handcuffed when he was arrested. He was not handcuffed when he was transported to the police station. As far as we understand, he was never handcuffed at all. And as Vikram Digwa himself told the court, while under arrest for Henry’s murder, the police even took him into the kitchen so that he could choose food. The contrast is unbearable.
We believe that the police officers involved are still serving, although we understand that some may have resigned since then. One officer was permitted to leave the police before giving a statement to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) about what happened that night. The IOPC investigation is still ongoing. While we await the final report, we call upon the Home Secretary to ensure that the IOPC has the resources, authority and independence it requires to conduct a full, fearless and transparent investigation.
Our family should not have to continue fighting for the truth. Despite the police’s shocking actions on that fatal night, the murder investigation was entirely different. We would like to express our profound gratitude to Senior Investigating Officer DCI Rebecca Bartholomew, the Major Crime Team, and the officer in charge of the investigation, Claire Proctor. We would also like to thank our outstanding family liaison officers Sarah Page and Trudy May for their diligence, professionalism and compassion throughout the investigation. We would also like to thank the CPS, as well as Nick Loenberg KC and Neil King, for their outstanding advocacy skills in this case. During the darkest period of our lives, it gave us strength to know that people were fighting tirelessly for Henry. They secured justice for our son, and for that our family will be eternally grateful.
For us, there is no closure. There is no moment when the pain ends. There is no moment when the void left by Henry in our family is filled. We will carry this grief every single day for the rest of our lives. But today means something. Today Henry was believed. The truth has been acknowledged. Today justice, in the eyes of the law, has been served. But justice alone is not enough. We want to use Henry’s heartbreaking, tragic story to create change for the better. We do not want his death to be used to create further division, hatred or tension. We want his story to make our streets safer for everyone.
Therefore, we call upon the Government to treat knife crime as the national crisis that it is. We need real solutions. We need investment in prevention. We need stronger measures against the sale, ownership and carrying of all types of knives. And as this case so painfully demonstrates, we need common sense in our laws. This does not mean impulsive reactions. It does not mean going to extremes. It simply means a sensible approach to law and order. As the prosecution summarised in court, this is not a case about discrimination. This is not a case about racism. This is a case about murder. People should not be able openly to walk the streets of Britain carrying a 21-centimetre knife.
As a family, we will not let this pass. No other family should have to experience the heartbreaking grief and terror of losing a child to knife crime. Finally, I want Henry to know, wherever he may be, that we are so proud of him and love him more than words can express. Thank you.