It was a video that outraged the world.
asserted
that → outrage → world
Police officers handcuffing 18-year-old student Henry Nowak as he lay dying, while his Sikh attacker, Vickrum Digwa, who had falsely accused him of racial abuse, stood watching.
asserted
who → handcuff → abuse
But it has emerged that the shocking video of Henry's wrongful arrest in Southampton on December 3 last year was not shown to his family until the first day of his murderer's trial - on May 14 this year.
uncertain
video → emerge → May
Now, Henry's family have said they believe police hoped their son's murderer would plead guilty so that the bodycam footage of their son's wrongful arrest - which prompted a fierce public outcry and political backlash - would never be made public.
asserted
which → say → outcry
Henry's stepmother Katie said the family now fears they may have been manipulated 'in our darkest hours', as they continue their fight for answers.
uncertain
they → say → answers
In the heartbreaking police body-worn camera footage of Henry's wrongful arrest, the teenager can be heard repeatedly saying: 'I've been stabbed' and 'Call an ambulance', to which an officer replies: 'Don't think you have, mate.'
asserted
you → wear → which
Digwa, 23, was jailed for life with a minimum term of 21 years in June – and the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) launched an investigation.
asserted
Office → jail → investigation
On Thursday, his term was increased to a minimum of 25 years in prison.
asserted
term → increase → prison
But the family have now spoken out about why they think police did not show them the footage from the night of Henry's murder until it was shown in the subsequent murder trial at Southampton Crown Court, five months later.
asserted
it → speak → Court
Speaking in ITV documentary Dear Henry: Our Fight For Justice, which aired on Thursday night, the family said they feared 'some decisions were made to try and protect police and their reputation, rather than try and help us as a family'.
asserted
decisions → speak → family
Henry Nowak's father Mark and stepmother Katie told ITV News UK editor Paul Brand in Dear Henry: Our Fight For Justice that they fear police were trying to cover up the bodycam footage of their son's wrongful arrest
Henry Nowak (pictured) was stabbed in Southampton last December then handcuffed as he lay dying
Weeks before the trial, they had received a letter from the Independent Office of Police Conduct (IOPC) saying that there was 'no evidence of serious wrongdoing by officers' as the body 'continued to investigate the police response' to Henry's murder.
The letter, sent to the family on April 10, read: 'After careful consideration of the evidence, no officers will be subject to criminal or conduct investigation.
'
asserted
officers → tell → investigation
This was because no concerns were identified in relation to officers' actions or decisions that were so serious as to justify the beginnings of disciplinary proceedings.
asserted
that → identify → proceedings
When the family then watched the horrific footage of Henry being handcuffed by officers as he lay bleeding on the floor and pleading for help, they described it as 'just horror'.
asserted
they → watch → horror
Katie Nowak said: 'We sat in a tiny little side room in Southampton Crown Court, and we were played that video.
'
asserted
we → say → video
In the last year, our world has changed twice - the first time was the night that we were told that Henry had died, and the second time was when we watched that video.'
asserted
we → change → video
She added: 'We had no reasons to doubt this letter from the IOPC, so when we finally got to see that video in court, we were so shocked.
'
asserted
we → add → court
It makes you question and re-examine every conversation you've ever had, it makes you consider whether you were told the truth.
asserted
you → make → truth
Once we'd seen that video, nothing made sense anymore.'
asserted
nothing → see → sense
Henry Nowak's sister, Olivia, and his mother, Lucy Ross, spoke about the moment police told them that Henry had died
Vickrum Digwa, 23, was sentenced to at least 25 years in prison for the murder
When asked why they thought police waited until the trial to give the family the opportunity to see the video they knew had existed all along, Mrs Nowak said: 'We've always felt that there was a slight hope that Vickrum may have pleaded guilty and if he'd have pleaded guilty, the truth may never have come out.'
Henry Nowak's father, Mark, nodded and said: 'The video would never have been shown - if there'd been no trial there would have been no opportunity to see that video.'
Mark Nowak added that the most infuriating thing for the family was 'the lack of truth and integrity throughout'.
He said: 'As the information the family and I were being fed started to evolve and change, I could see something fundamentally went wrong on that night.'
uncertain
something → speak → night
In the documentary, the family also said that from the beginning, the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary had suggested to them that Henry had been the instigator of violence that night.
uncertain
Henry → say → violence
When police officers arrived at their homes in the early hours of the morning to inform them of Henry's death, his mother, Lucy Ross, said one of the first questions they asked was what her son's political views were, as well as their own.
asserted
views → arrive → questions
Ms Ross said: 'I did think at the time, that's a really strange question.
asserted
that → say → time
You've just been told your son's been murdered and then they asked that.'
asserted
they → tell → that
Henry's father and his stepmother added that 'quite early on, something didn't feel right to us', explaining: 'It was completely at odds with the character that Henry was [...] Henry was not racist.'
asserted
Henry → add → character
Police officers pinned fatally injured Henry to the ground as he gasped 'I've been stabbed'
asserted
I → pin → ground
The family also said that police allegedly first told them that when officers had arrived on the scene, they had noticed Henry was in a serious state and had 'immediately administered first aid'.
uncertain
Henry → say → aid
Yet the subsequent footage of the police's response they saw showed this was not the case and they later admitted that he had actually been handcuffed and arrested.
asserted
he → see → response
It was, in fact, almost eight minutes since they arrived at the scene that police noticed Henry had been stabbed in the chest.
asserted
Henry → arrive → chest
It was after 20 minutes that they arrested the correct suspect.
asserted
they → arrest → suspect
'The story was evolving every time we had an interaction,' Mr Nowak explained.
asserted
Nowak → evolve → interaction
'What started off as, "When the police arrived, we administered first aid", moved through a stage where: "When the police arrived, they detained everyone"...
asserted
they → start → everyone
To: "We actually only detained Henry", to then: "We handcuffed Henry", and then: "We placed Henry under arrest".
asserted
We → detain → arrest
'That evolution of what actually happened that night really shocked us, and we felt we were being hoodwinked.
asserted
we → happen → us
We felt we were being not told the truth.'
The family have also said that in the hours after being told Henry was killed, they found a post on the Southampton Police Facebook page suggesting that he had started the violence, stating that 'two individuals were attacked by an unknown man'.
Mrs Nowak said: 'We then knew that unknown man to be Henry – so, even reading that was so shocking.'
Digwa used this eight-inch blade to stab Henry – delivering the fatal blow to his chest
The following day, while Mark Nowak was driving home from identifying his son's body in Southampton, he said he was called by police to approve a press release that would name his son for the first time.
asserted
that → feel → time
But in this draft release, his son was again depicted as the 'aggressor'.
asserted
son → depict → aggressor
'That was a statement that essentially identified the victim,' Mr Nowak said.
asserted
Nowak → identify → victim
'So, tarnishing the victim's name at that stage was shocking for me to hear... as I was on the way back from identifying my son's body.'
asserted
I → tarnish → body
The family think police initially believed Digwa's lies that he was the victim of a racist attack, before realising their mistake.
asserted
he → think → mistake
Digwa used his eight-inch blade to stab Henry five times – delivering the fatal blow to his chest.
asserted
Digwa → use → chest
Police initially dismissed Henry's pleas that he had been stabbed and could not breathe, before finally discovering the fatal stab wound to his chest while performing CPR, eight minutes after arriving on scene.
uncertain
he → dismiss → scene
…and 54 more, not listed.
The Aporia
