Outrage Over Police Treatment of Dying Teenager Sparks Debate on Race in Policing

The murder of Henry Nowak and the way he was treated by police in his final moments has prompted outrage and condemnation, and an apology from the police to his family.

How could it be that police officers arriving at a crime scene in Southampton last December did not immediately rush to help the 18-year-old as he lay slumped on the ground? Instead, video from a bodycam showed police putting the dying teenager in handcuffs.

Why did they readily believe the false claim by Vikra Digwa, a Sikh man, that he had been racially abused by the student he had fatally stabbed?

A separate Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) investigation into the officers' behaviour is ongoing, and it will be some time before we fully understand what happened in this case or whether it is indicative of wider problems in policing.

Regardless, it has prompted another crisis in public trust in the police related to race - though this time, the questions are different.

It has also led some serving officers to question whether a series of scandals and highly critical reports detailing biased treatment of ethnic minorities by police have made officers more sympathetic to claims of racism than other offences.

One officer told me: "We've had several reports about how racist we are in the last few years when it comes to black people and Asian people, and so we're very cautious when handling cases involving different races - and so what happened in Southampton is easy to see why. Maybe we're too cautious now."

Another said: "We have such a hard job and we're always scrutinised. But we need to get it right. I just wish people got the pressure we're under because of the claims we're racist by those who've [written critical reports]."

The fact that police forces have been under pressure to address racial bias should be no surprise when the revelations of recent years are taken into consideration, including the failure of the Metropolitan Police to properly investigate the racist murder of Stephen Lawrence in 1993.

There have been cases away from the capital too - for example, since 2022 eight members of staff at West Yorkshire Police have been dismissed following misconduct investigations over racial discrimination.

One senior serving officer put it like this: "A history of racism in policing is something we've had to look at and react to - but perhaps we've gone too far the other way?

"At the heart of what we do is treat everyone the same - and we need to make sure we're doing that".

This week there has been particular focus on the wording of a 2022 document called the Police Race Action Plan, which was issued to police forces setting out how officers should approach race.

But it is important to note this is not the only document informing police behaviour. The College of Policing's code of ethics states: "We earn the public's confidence when we listen to what they have to say, make decisions that are fair and unbiased, and are open and honest about our decisions."

The National Police Chiefs' Council has announced it will review of race guidance, after suggestions that it may have shaped how officers reacted at the scene, and the home secretary believes the wording used in the 2002 document was clumsy.

Barrister Abimbola Johnson, who was chair of the independent board set up to oversee the writing of those documents, told BBC Radio 5 Live's Nicky Campbell it was wrong to link it to the Henry Nowak case.

She said the commitment was borne out of a "recognition that when you look at all of the disproportionality in relation to use of force… black communities are the ones who receive the worst of policing".

She continued: "I have seen horrific examples of footage like Henry Nowak's death, where you see police handcuffing people when they are in moments of vulnerability, when they are on unwell, when there are in moment of crisis, against the guidelines which are set out for use of force… and unfortunately the disproportionate people who are on the receiving end of that tend to be the people of colour."

She said: "Those officers appear to have attended a scene with a belief that they must put anything that is allegedly racially motivated above anything else. And that is absolutely inaccurate, it's wrong."

So the question facing British police is this: how can forces ensure racism in policing is stamped out, while also retaining the confidence of a section of white British society who believe they are now more likely to be victims of bias?

In the wake of a case as upsetting and troubling as the death of Henry Nowak, that will not be an easy question to answer.