Clashes erupt in UK city after protest over student's murder and police treatment
Clashes have broken out in the UK city of Southampton after hundreds of people gathered to protest the murder of 18-year-old student Henry Nowak and his treatment at the hands of police in his final minutes.
The rally on Tuesday followed the release of police bodycam footage showing officers handcuffing Nowak, who had been stabbed. Police ignored Nowak’s pleas for help after his murderer, Vickrum Singh Digwa, falsely accused the student of carrying out a racist attack.
The footage revived debate over claims of unequal police treatment of different ethnic groups, known as “two-tier policing,” and sparked nationwide outrage.
The protesters initially gathered outside the city center police station on Tuesday before moving closer to the home of Nowak’s killer, Digwa.
Rally participants chanted Nowak’s name and “I can’t breathe” – the words he had repeated while being arrested. Activist Tommy Robinson joined the protest, telling the crowd that the case was “about race.”
Violence broke out, with videos on social media showing the crowd pelting riot police with various objects. Chairs, cans, flares, bricks, bins, and an e-scooter were reportedly thrown at officers, forcing them to retreat from some areas.
Police responded by pushing back, including by hitting the protesters with riot shields. Eleven officers as well as a police dog were injured in the clashes, according to reports. Two people were arrested over the incidents, with police indicating that the number of arrests will increase as they review footage from the scene.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer denounced the violence at the protest as “disgraceful and completely unacceptable.” He also criticized Reform UK leader Nigel Farage for what he called an “unforgivable” response to Nowak’s murder. Farage had earlier called on the British public to respond to the incident with “pure, cold rage” and called it a proof of “two-tier culture” in the UK.
Hampshire police chief Alexis Boon told the BBC that “we, as a society, cannot accept… the violent scenes” seen at the protests. He accused some of the protesters of seeking to cause “disorder and trouble” while denying allegations of two-tier policing.
