Sickening bodycam footage that shows British cops handcuffing a dying student who had been stabbed with a ceremonial Sikh knife has shocked the United Kingdom Tuesday — and the case kicked off massive protests.

His killer, 23-year-old Vickrum Digwa, falsely claimed that Nowak had racially abused him, with cops taking the murderer’s side when they arrived.

Critics, including Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, claimed the cops’ actions were driven by woke policies — and the fear of being accused of racism — rather than administering justice.

“I’ve been stabbed,” Nowak pleads with officers as they put him in handcuffs, to which a heartless cop replies, “I don’t think you have, mate,” according to bodycam footage released by the police with permission from his family.

Nowak bled out after Digwa stabbed him five times in his legs and in his heart in a cowardly attack following a night out on Dec. 3, 2025.

Digwa, who said he carried the blade because of his Sikh faith, was sentenced to a minimum of 21 years to life in prison at Southampton Crown Court on Monday.

The sentence allowed the details of the horrific attack to become public in the UK.

“The fear of being called racist was greater than dealing with Henry Nowak’s murder,” Farage said in an incidiary statement.

“We should respond to this with pure cold rage. Britain’s historic way of life is being thrown away.”

The case is yet another major blow to unpopular left-wing Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s government. Starmer said he “felt sick” seeing the video, but accused Farage of “whipping up division.”

But Tuesday night a crowd of protesters outside the Southampton police station, some of whom shouted “I can’t breathe,” gave way to violent protests.

Rioters threw bottles, flares, rocks and garbage cans at riot police.

Nowak’s family has called for calm — even as they lambasted their son’s killer and the police response to his attack.

The case raised racial tensions in the English community after large surges in both the foreign-born population and the non-white population over the last decade.

The Asian population — including people of Indian and Pakistani origin — has grown to 5.5 million, increasing nearly two percentage points.

The mother of the killer, Kiran Kaur, hid the knife for her son and was found guilty of assisting an offender and is due to be sentenced in July.

A picture of the bloodstained blade was shared by authorities.

Practising Sikhs are legally allowed to carry a small, curved blade, known as a kirpan, close to their body, under current British law.

Digwa had a kirpan under his clothing, but the knife he used to murder Nowak was much bigger and worn in a sheath over his clothes, according to authorities.

His family issued a statement on Tuesday, saying they were “deeply sorry for the pain and suffering” the killing had brought to Nowak’s family.

“We would give anything to turn back time so the path of both Henry and Vickrum never crossed that night. We cannot change what has happened, we just hope that no further pain is caused in its name,” the statement continued.

Digwa’s family also apologized to the Sikh community for bringing them “into disrepute.”

Nowak’s parents slammed the “inhumane and degrading” treatment the college freshman received at the hands of police, who have since apologized.

In sentencing, Judge William Mousley said Digwa had “stirred up racial tension in Southampton and across the country which has made many Sikhs worried about their safety.”

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he “felt sick” watching the bodycam footage and said that there are “serious questions for the police to answer.”

Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary, the force responsible for the case, has referred itself to the British police watchdog, the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC).

“We acknowledge that this case has raised questions about the actions of the attending officers, and we are aware that a few minutes of police body-worn footage has been issued by the force following the conclusion of criminal proceedings,” IOPC director Derrick Campbell told BBC News.

“As part of our ongoing investigation, we are reviewing a large amount of police body-worn footage, which we need to consider in context with other evidence we have obtained, including reviewing material presented during the murder trial, as we establish the full circumstances,” he added.

The officers who were called to the murder scene are still being treated as witnesses and are yet to be publicly identified.