Christi Hill, one of two Hampshire Constabulary officers misidentified as being involved in the arrest of Mr Nowak, said in a statement that she retired from the force in 2024
A former Hampshire Police constable falsely accused online of being involved in the arrest of Henry Nowak has been forced to flee to a safe space, as another officer was forced to move out of his home.
Christi Hill, a serving police constable for 12 years, has criticised social media and AI-backed platforms, among them Elon Musk’s Grok, for spreading a false claim that she was among officers who arrested Mr Nowak in Southampton in December last year. The 18-year-old was stabbed eight times in the chest by Vickrum Digwa, who was convicted of his murder on Monday, and was ignored by responding officers, who handcuffed the teen and dragged him across the floor as he lay dying and said “I can’t breathe”.
Ms Hill is one of two officers who were wrongly identified online, according to home secretary Shabana Mahmood, who said another man was forced to flee his own home.
The former officer said in a statement following her misidentification that she had left Hampshire Constabulary in April 2024, a full 20 months before Mr Nowak was murdered. She said: “I am writing this post with a heavy heart, both out of deep sadness for a tragic event and out of a necessity to protect my reputation, safety and peace of mind.
“Today, my name and image have been widely circulated on social media, and now by AI platforms such as Grok, falsely identifying me as one of the arresting officers in the Henry Nowak case.
“To be absolutely clear, I was not involved in this incident. In fact, I left Hampshire constabulary in April 2024. The tragic events involving Henry Nowak occurred in December 2025. The confusion stems from a national police bravery award media release. A photo of myself and a former colleague, who has also been wrongfully targeted, is being repeatedly shared and misattributed to this case.”
The home secretary said this week that a second male officer, who has not been named, was forced to move out of his home after also being wrongly targeted.
The two were misidentified via social media, with Grok, the AI assistant on Elon Musk’s X, stating the two were the officers seen in police bodycam footage arresting Mr Nowak. The harrowing footage, released following Digwa’s sentencing on Monday, captured the moment Mr Nowak was handcuffed on the ground and dragged outside the Sikh man’s family home in Southampton as officers responded to a call that Digwa was “attacked by someone racially”.
Distressingly, Mr Nowak can be heard throughout the video complaining that he had been stabbed, and that he was unable to breathe.
But one male officer doubts his claim, telling him: “Don’t think you have mate.” The officer then says: “He says he’s been stabbed, so let’s just check him.” The footage shows him briefly lifting Nowak’s shirt around the belt area before he leaves the 18-year-old to lie down on his side.
A second officer, whose voice appears to be female, can be heard saying: “Where do you think he’s been stabbed? In the face?” A male voice then replies: “He hasn’t been stabbed.”
Mr Nowak was then told he was being arrested for assault. An ambulance was called just a minute later to administer CPR, but according to a judge overseeing Digwa’s case, his wounds were too severe for him to be saved. Ms Hill said in her statement that it was “alarming” to see how she and her fellow officer were incorrectly identified by algorithms and AI, despite it being “factually impossible” that they were involved.
She 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.
“It is deeply unsettling to have my name wrongly attached to such a high-profile and sensitive matter whilst there has been a clear lack of support from Hampshire constabulary in rectifying this false narrative in a timely manner. My primary thoughts remain with the family affected by this tragedy.
“They deserve justice and clarity, not the noise of online misinformation. I kindly ask my network to help share this clarification.”
