A former police officer has been forced to move to a safe house after being falsely identified by artificial intelligence as one of the arresting officers in the Henry Nowak murder case. Christi Hill, who left Hampshire Constabulary 20 months before the incident, said she feared for her safety as misinformation spread online.
Hill was mistakenly linked to the case after Grok, an AI service on X (formerly Twitter), and Facebook users shared her name and photograph, claiming she was involved in the arrest of Henry Nowak. However, Hill had resigned from her role as a police constable in Portsmouth in April 2024, while the tragic events occurred in December 2025.
The confusion stemmed from a national police bravery award media release featuring Hill and a former colleague, which was misattributed to the Nowak case. In a statement, Hill said: 'It is alarming to see how quickly a piece of outdated media can be weaponised by algorithms and accepted as fact by AI platforms, despite being factually impossible.'
Hill's mother, Nikki Hill, described the ordeal as 'terrible', adding that her daughter's name and face were circulated online with accusations of murder. Hampshire Constabulary condemned the spread of misinformation, stating that an officer unrelated to the case had received death threats. The force has referred itself to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) for investigation into its response on the night of the incident.
Grok issued an apology on X, acknowledging the error and the distress caused, including forcing Hill into a safe house. The AI service stated it should have been more cautious in verifying timelines before naming individuals.
