POLICE TOOK EIGHT MINUTES TO FIND STABBING VICTIM'S WOUND

Officers who arrested Henry Nowak took approximately eight minutes to discover he had been stabbed, according to an unedited transcript of police body-worn camera footage released by the Crown Prosecution Service. Nowak, an 18-year-old finance student from Chafford Hundred, Essex, was handcuffed at the scene of a stabbing in Southampton in December. During the footage, Nowak repeatedly told officers "I've been stabbed", to which an officer responded "Don't think you have, mate." A female officer subsequently called for an ambulance after observing that Nowak's pupils were not reacting to light.

The transcript shows that at three minutes and five seconds into the incident, an officer stated "I'm not sure he's breathing" and began to uncuff Nowak and perform CPR. Between five minutes 24 seconds and seven minutes 33 seconds, a female officer requested a torch and scissors to examine Nowak's clothing. After seven minutes 33 seconds, the officer cut away his clothing and discovered a stab wound, with an officer saying "He's got a stab… I'm pushing on a f****** stab wound." Vickrum Digwa, 23, had told police at the scene that Nowak had racially abused him.

Digwa was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 21 years on 1 June following his conviction for Nowak's murder. The case followed Digwa's claim that he had been the victim of a racist attack, a claim later found to be false during legal proceedings. The release of the full transcript came after a three-minute version of the body-worn video footage generated significant public attention.