Henry Nowak was failed in the last moments of his life – and then again by Britain’s disgraceful political class | Jason Okundaye

There are vital lessons to be learned from Nowak’s death. Instead, it has been used to refuel a pervasive lie about ethnic minorities and ‘two-tier’ policing

Nine times. As Henry Nowak lay dying in handcuffs, he told police officers that he could not breathe nine times.

To recount his final moments: last December, Nowak, who was walking home alone after a night out with university friends in Southampton, encountered Vickrum Digwa. As the judge said in his sentencing, only Nowak and Digwa know exactly what happened in their interaction. But what is clear is that Digwa stabbed Nowak repeatedly and lied to the police when they arrived on the scene: he claimed that Nowak had racially abused him. The police pulled Nowak across the gravel and forced his hands behind his back. As he pleaded with officers, telling him that he had been stabbed, one officer dismissed him, saying: “I don’t think you have, mate.” Another simply says “he hasn’t been stabbed”. Just the sound from the bodycam footage is enough to make your blood run cold.

Jason Okundaye is a Guardian Opinion assistant editor

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