Ex-Portsmouth police officer forced into safe house after falsely blamed by AI over Henry Nowak murder arrest

A former Portsmouth police officer has been forced to move to a safe house after she was falsely accused online and by AI of being one of the arresting officers in the Henry Nowak murder.

Christi Hill, who served as a police constable in Portsmouth for 12 years, has been forced to “protect my reputation” after her name and picture were falsely circulated online accusing her of being a “murderer”.

She left the Hampshire force in 2024, 20 months before the incident. With her colleague Tristan Parsons, then a PCSO, she was honoured at the 2020 Police Bravery Awards, held in 2021, for tackling a burglar who stabbed her with a hypodermic syringe after he was caught breaking into a hairdressing salon.

But now, after those details were spread across social media, both fuelled and mangled by AI, she has seen her picture and name connected to the Henry Nowak arrest - even though it happened 20 months after she handed in her badge.

The under-fire former officer has now accused Hampshire Police of a “clear lack of support” to “rectify” the situation as she bunkers down in a safe space, scared for her safety.

Mr Nowak was handcuffed by police as he lay dying at the scene in Southampton on December 3 last year after his murderer Vickrum Digwa lied, claiming he had been racially abused by the teen and had acted in self-defence.

The victim had told police he had been stabbed and could not breathe but was not believed by officers who detained him - while Digwa was never even handcuffed when taken into custody. He was jailed for 21 years for murder on Monday.

Anger has reached boiling point over the horrific incident with false claims made online over who were the arresting officers. Hampshire Constabulary has told The News they will not be naming the officers involved.

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Those claims have included the wrongful incrimination of Ms Hill and PC Tristan Parsons. The damaging allegations have now also been published on AI platform Grok, owned by X, which wrote, in answer to a user’s question: “Public reports and identifications in the Henry Nowak bodycam footage name PC Christi Hill and PC Tristan Parsons as the primary officers shown.”

The social media witch hunt has now sparked Ms Hill into action, with her releasing a statement which read: “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.

“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.”

The former officer’s mum Nikki Hill told The News: "It's been terrible seeing her name and face all over the internet calling her a murderer.”

A Hampshire police spokesperson said: “We know there has been significant commentary following the sentencing of Vickrum Digwa and we recognise the desire for answers about the police response that night.

“However, what we cannot accept is the significant spread of misinformation online by those intent on causing further fear and division by making threats to officers and sharing names that are simply not true.

“A police officer unrelated to this case has been misidentified online and subject to death threats.

“The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) is continuing its independent investigation into our response on the night in question, following our self-referral the next day. While that progresses, we ask that people avoid harmful speculation online.”