Henry Nowak murder, policing guidelines and the far right | Letters

Savitri Hensman and Sarmad Ahmad Anwar respond to articles on the circumstances surrounding the death of Nowak

On the catastrophic mistreatment of Henry Nowak by police, important points are made in your editorial (The Guardian view on Henry Nowak and the far right: sinister exploitation of a disturbing case, 3 June) and in Jason Okundaye’s article (Henry Nowak was failed in the last moments of his life – and then again by Britain’s disgraceful political class, 3 June).

The key issue is that, in a scene where what had happened was not at first clear, officers did not act swiftly to check, and safeguard, the health of someone voicing extreme distress. In addition, it should not be assumed that what is statistically most common is the case in a particular instance.