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Because this has been co-opted by the far-right and has already instigated an organised violent mob (including notorious white supremacist Tommy Robinson and leader of far-right party Reform Nigel Farage) to attack police and try to get to the murderer’s family’s home (these same groups tried to burn asylum-seekers alive a year or two ago) and the doxxing of two officers who are falsely being claimed to be the officers involved, let’s have some facts
To preface this: none of this is excusing or justifying the actions of the police. There is an investigation underway, and it’s unquestionably true that there are serious issues which need to be addressed. This is just the facts of the case, as laid out in court, by the coroner, and by the presiding judge in his summation
The police *did* check for stab wounds and when they found them they immediately uncuffed him and started administering medical help. He was cuffed for 1 minute. He was getting help 3 minutes after the police first arrived
The knife had penetrated a vein close to his lungs. There is nothing anybody could have done to save him, even if it had been an ambulance full of surgeons who had arrived instead of the police, because nobody could have found and got to the vein in time
It was dark, and he was wearing dark clothes which, coupled with the internal nature of his injuries, made it difficult to see that he had been stabbed
It is very common for someone who has been cuffed to claim to be ill or injured in order to be uncuffed and to try to escape
The murder weapon had already been removed from the scene by the time the police arrived
It was the murderer who called the police, reporting himself as the victim and his victim as the perpetrator. He had members of his family with him who backed up his side of the story
Again, this doesn’t excuse what happened or eliminate the obvious systemic failures. But before going in all guns blazing, make sure you know the full facts, and be conscious of whose narrative you may be amplifying. Also bear in mind that the family have said that they hold the murderer “100% responsible” for Nowak’s death, and that they do not want this incident to be used to spread division