Two-tier Britain finally has its George Floyd moment

Bodycam footage from the United Kingdom has turned Henry Nowak’s death from a local outrage into a national indictment. The footage appears to show officers handcuffing an 18-year-old stabbing victim, dismissing his pleas for help, and treating him as the suspect while he bled to death.

Nowak, an 18-year-old from Essex, reportedly told officers, “I can’t breathe,” and “I’ve been stabbed.” Officers mocked him, denied that he had been injured, and debated whether they had any obligation to check. The case has drawn comparisons to George Floyd in the United States. The comparison is imperfect, but the contrast is obvious: In Nowak’s case, the police had every reason to believe the man on the ground needed urgent medical care.

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