Eleven police officers and a police dog were injured during violent clashes in Southampton on Tuesday night, according to Hampshire Police Chief Constable Alexis Boon. The disorder, which involved those claiming to protest over the murder of 18-year-old Henry Nowak, left a trail of destruction with smashed car windows and bricks strewn across roads.
The evening began peacefully outside Southampton Central Police Station but escalated when hundreds marched to the neighbourhood where Nowak died and where his killer, Vickrum Digwa, lived. Protesters hurled bricks, wheelie bins, bottles and beer cans at police, who formed a riot line to prevent them from reaching Digwa's family home.
Chief Constable Boon condemned the violence, stating: 'What we, as a society, cannot accept is the violent scenes we saw in Southampton last night. Some clearly arrived intent on causing disorder and trouble.' He added that two arrests had been made and that experienced officers would remain on the streets to ensure community safety.
Labour council leader Sarah Bogle expressed distress at the scenes, noting that many demonstrators appeared to have come from outside the city. She urged respect for the wishes of Henry Nowak's family to 'dial down the rhetoric and keep the peace.' Residents in the Portswood area described being terrified, with one neighbour reporting both families' cars were smashed.
John Savage, a Labour representative for Portswood, called the violence 'absolutely outrageous' and suggested most demonstrators were brought in from elsewhere. The far-right activist Tommy Robinson was among those addressing the crowd, which chanted slogans including 'Racist police, off our streets.'
