Henry Nowak's killer was NOT handcuffed by police during arrest, new bodycam footage shows

Henry Nowak's killer was not handcuffed by police during his arrest, new bodycam footage has revealed.

The latest video shows Vickrum Digwa, a Sikh, falsely claiming he was "racially attacked" by the innocent 18-year-old university student.

The killer was jailed for a minimum of 21 years at the start of June for murdering Mr Nowak on the streets of Southampton on December 3 last year.

Harrowing bodycam footage from the incident showed Mr Nowak repeatedly telling police officers he had been stabbed and was unable to breathe.

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Before he passed out, one officer told the teen: "Don't think you have, mate."

Meanwhile, the 23-year-old Sikh was not handcuffed when he was arrested on suspicion of murder.

The bodycam footage showed police telling him: "You’ve got your side of the story, mate. We don’t know what’s gone on here, OK?"

Then, when the convicted murderer lied and said he had been attacked, one police officer replied: "I know, mate, I know, I'm not saying you've done anything, mate."

In the video, Digwa said he was acting in self-defence, that Mr Nowak was drunk and that he had called him a racial slur after "barging" into him.

The convicted killer complained to officers that Mr Nowak called him a "bad man".

Hampshire Police admitted to the BBC that Digwa was not handcuffed for four days in custody before he was charged.

Mr Nowak's family said the staggering difference in police officers' treatment of their loved one and his murderer was "unbearable".

While emergency workers performed CPR on the teenager, Digwa told police: "He pushed my turban off my head, started grabbing my hair. I’m a Sikh, obviously.

"He was grabbing at my hair, dragging me around, and from there an altercation happened. He's started stumbling around.

READ MORE ON HENRY NOWAK'S CASE:

• Police took eight minutes to find Henry Nowak's stab wound before paramedics arrived
• Tragedies like Henry Nowak's murder are 'becoming the new normal', podcaster warns
• Henry Nowak's killer left 'cowering in cell' after facing 'threats' from other inmates

"I saw him from the get-go. I was like, 'Mate, you're clearly drunk. Carry on with your day'. He then escalated the situation, calling me a p**i and all that sort of stuff."

He also claimed his family had been victims of racist assaults in the past in the nine-minute-long footage of his arrest.

Digwa further complained about the blue light emanating from the emergency vehicles and told police to "turn the flashes off so it's not too much in my eyesight".

A male officer asks: "This is really important, okay? The time now is 11.55pm."

Digwa responded he was "tired", while the officer continued: "Okay, it's important, mate. At this time, I'm arresting you on suspicion of attempted murder, okay?"

"What do you mean, attempted murder? Why am I getting arrested?" Digwa said.

The policeman said: "You’ve got your side of the story, mate. We don’t know what’s gone on here, okay? So we need to find out, okay?"

Digwa reiterated his lie that he was "racially attacked", and then the officer replied: "I know, mate, I know. I'm not saying you’ve done anything, mate."

Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp has since hit out at the "shameful difference" between both arrests.

He added it was "hardly surprising when police officers are constantly drilled with extremist ideology that tells them to treat white people worse".

Earlier this week, transcripts revealed that officers did not discover his stab wound for eight minutes despite the teenager informing them nine times.

They only sound the alarm after officers note that Mr Nowak was no longer breathing.

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