Men jailed for violence at Henry Nowak police protest

Two men have been jailed for violent disorder at a protest in Southampton following the murder of Henry Nowak.

Connor Bishop, 24, was sentenced to two years and eight months and Leon O'Leary, 41, was jailed for three years and one month. Both pleaded guilty to violent disorder at a previous hearing.

They are the first people to be sentenced after violence on 2 June saw 12 police officers and a police dog injured as missiles including wheelie bins and chairs were thrown.

The protest happened after police bodycam footage was released showing Nowak, 18, handcuffed as he lay dying after being stabbed by Vickrum Digwa, 23, who was jailed for life with a minimum term of 21 years.

A total of 21 people, including Bishop, from Southampton, and O'Leary, from Basingstoke, have been charged in connection with the disorder.

A crowd initially took part in a demonstration outside the city centre police station before gathering close to the Digwa family home.

Digwa stabbed Nowak with a large blade he said he carried on grounds of his Sikh faith, then lied to police at the scene, falsely claiming he was the victim of a racist attack, leading officers to arrest Nowak instead of his killer.

The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) has since launched an investigation into the force's response.

Footage shown in Southampton Crown Court showed O'Leary "walking casually" in the crowd in front of the police cordon when he spots a smoke grenade on the ground, picks it up and throws it towards police.

O'Leary also admitted resisting a police officer and possession of an offensive weapon - a samurai sword in his bedroom - when officers came to arrest him in the early hours of 7 June.

The court heard he adopted a "fighting stance" at the top of the stairs and threatened officers who had to use pava spray to subdue him.

From a search in his bedroom, officers also found the samurai sword, which O'Leary said he owned for 20 years as decorative only and he did not know the law had changed on owning one.

Meanwhile Connor Bishop, 24, from Southampton, was seen in footage wearing a black jumper with "boys get sad too" written on the back, carrying a yellow traffic cone which he threw towards officers.

He was seen running with the cone, "pursuing officers for some time with it", prosecutor, Siobhan Linsley told the court.

"Once it's thrown he then follows it again, picks it up again," she said.

When he was arrested at his home on 3 June, he answered "no comment" but then accepted he was there when shown footage.

He also admitted throwing a box of screws and punching a wall which was not captured on footage.

He told a police interview he was brought up Christian and "threw items to fit into the crowd" and that he had drunk a small amount of beer "that made him more lairy".

Defending Bishop, Thomas Evans said: "He is perhaps an example of peer pressure and group thinking".

Evans said of Bishop and O'Leary: "They are not the instigators of this disorder, they are inevitable result of other individuals who seek to harness anger."

As part of the prosecution Linsley read out statements from those affected by the events.

Sophie Martin, a local resident described the ordeal as "truly awful" adding that she "felt trapped and couldn't leave" her home.

She was concerned that the group outside would manage to get through the police blockade.

"I had no idea what would happen and what they were capable of," she said.

Linsley also read a statement from British Transport Police officer Ruby Stevenson who was assisting the police defensive.

She said: "I didn't think I was going to make it out alive or without serious injury."

Adding she had "never experienced such violence or hate towards police" in her 12-year career.

Linsley told the court that the protests had cost police £443,000 in staffing and accommodation.

She added that Southampton City Council had paid £6,700 to deal with the fallout of the event.

Before sentencing the pair Judge William Mousley KC, summarised the events and explained that police faced "constant assault" from projectiles thrown from the crowd and physical threats.

He said those in attendance had the option to move away, even to leave the disorder and encourage others to do the same.

He said the protests caused "fear, distress and disruption to members of the public and substantial cost to the public purse".

He added that it also led to "significant damage" to property and cars in the area, as well as having a "serious detrimental impact on the community".