Former Officer in Nowak Case Claims Safety Threats After Misidentification

A former police officer who was incorrectly named as being present during the arrest and death of Henry Nowak has revealed she is living in fear and has taken refuge in a safe house. Christi Hill, who departed Hampshire Constabulary in April 2024, more than a year prior to Nowak’s fatal stabbing in December 2025, stated that she was falsely targeted by social media users and the AI chatbot Grok.

Speaking to BBC Verify, Hill described receiving violent threats as a result of the misinformation. She directed criticism toward Elon Musk’s xAI group, blaming Grok for the "chaos" generated by its errors, and expressed frustration that Hampshire police failed to publicly clarify her non-involvement. Both Hampshire Constabulary and xAI have been contacted for remarks.

The case has ignited significant public anger following the release of bodycam footage showing officers handcuffing the 18-year-old university student while he lay dying. This occurred after his killer, Vickrum Digwa, falsely claimed he was the victim of a racial attack. In the video, Nowak repeatedly informs the officers that he has been stabbed, to which one responds, "I don't think so mate." Digwa, 23, is currently serving a life sentence with a minimum term of 21 years for murder.

BBC Verify has also confirmed that Tristan Parsons, a current police officer who was similarly accused online, was abroad when Nowak was murdered. Parsons is also currently in hiding. A jury inquest scheduled for next year will examine whether any actions or failures by police contributed to Nowak’s death in Southampton.

The incident has drawn condemnation from Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, who accused Musk of attempting to "whip up division" in the UK. The billionaire owner of X has frequently used the platform to attack the police response to the stabbing, describing how "heinously" Nowak was treated in his final moments.

"We need to also assert who we are as a country, because Musk, again, has been interfering in our politics in the last few days, trying to whip up division – that is not who we are in Britain," Starmer told reporters on Thursday. He added, "When we have a terrible case like Henry's case, Henry Nowak, we react calmly, as his family have done."

Hill recounted how she first noticed the false allegations around 03:00 BST on Tuesday when she began receiving notifications. "I just couldn't believe it, it was just picture after picture... after opening the messages and social media it was an onslaught from the beginning really," she said from her undisclosed location. "I didn't really understand where this was coming from."

She described the online hostility as "outrageous," noting posts calling for extreme violence against identified officers and claims that she "didn't deserve to live." Hill emphasized that Grok exacerbated the situation by confirming her identity as the arresting officer—an impossibility given her departure from the force over a year earlier. "It would answer and confirm I was the arresting officer at an incident I simply couldn't have been [at], and this was fuelling the fire of the outrage online... it went nuclear," she explained.

Frustrated by the escalation, Hill issued a public statement. BBC News reviewed X posts from Tuesday in which Grok identified Hill and a male officer as those involved in the arrest. Although Grok later admitted it had "incorrectly named" Hill and acknowledged a "mistake in visual identification," Hill rejected the apology as insufficient. "I just don't think that's good enough for the chaos that it has caused, death threats, threats of violence, threats against the safety of multiple people that have been misidentified here," she said.

Hill also voiced strong dissatisfaction with Hampshire Constabulary for not actively dispelling the rumors and confirming she was no longer an employee. She noted that the incriminating photos were originally sourced from a National Police Bravery Award nomination submitted by Hampshire Constabulary and posted on their social media channels.

Source: BBC News Generated at: 2026-06-04 15:50:47 UTC