The widow of PC Andrew Harper, who was killed while responding to a quad bike theft just hours before he was due to start their honeymoon, has unveiled a stone in his memory
The widow of a police officer tragically killed in the line of duty has spoken of the moment her ‘life changed forever’ as she unveiled a new memorial.
PC Andrew Harper died aged 28 on August 15, 2019, after being dragged along the road by fleeing criminals while responding to a quad bike theft in Sulhamstead, Berkshire.
He had been due to clock off and begin his honeymoon with wife Lissie hours before. Three teenagers were convicted of his manslaughter in July 2020, and his death led to harsher sentences for killings of emergency workers on duty.
On Thursday, Mrs Harper paid a heartfelt tribute to her late husband as the Police Memorial Trust unveiled a stone in his name in Reading.
Mrs Harper said in her speech: “In 2019, our lives changed forever. The world lost a hero but I lost the person I was meant to grow old with.
“He was proud to serve as a police officer but, to me, he was so much more. He was my partner, my strength, and my first love. I will always carry him with me – in my heart, in my memories, and in everything he taught me about strength, compassion, and courage. “Andrew never took life for granted,” she added. He was the epitome of what a police officer should be – willing to serve and protect at all costs.”
PC Harper died after he was caught in a strap attached to the back of a car and dragged down a winding country road as the three teenage suspects fled the scene of the burglary.
Mrs Harper later successfully campaigned for Harper’s Law, which extended mandatory life sentences to anyone who commits the manslaughter of an emergency worker on duty.
She was made an MBE in 2022 for her services to victims of violent crime and their families. Thames Valley Police Chief Constable Jason Hogg, who attended the unveiling ceremony on Thursday, said he remembered the “shock” brought by the news of PC Harper’s death.
“I remember standing with officers in the aftermath of something that will stay with me for the rest of my life,” the police chief said in his speech. Andrew was 28 years old. He was doing his job. He was responding to a call for help, serving the public, protecting his community.
“There was nothing extraordinary about that decision because for police officers across this country that sense of duty is part of everyday service. And yet the risk is always there.”
He added: “For Andrew’s colleagues, this stone is a place of remembrance. For his family, it is a lasting tribute to who he was and what he stood for.
“And for the community he served, it is a reminder that the safety we so often take for granted is secured by people willing to step forward on our behalf.”
Henry Long, 19, was sentenced to 16 years and 18-year-olds Jessie Cole and Albert Bowers were handed 13 years in custody over the manslaughter of the Thames Valley Police traffic officer.
Long, leader of the group, admitted manslaughter while passengers Cole and Bowers were convicted of manslaughter after a trial at the Old Bailey.
All three were cleared of murder by the jury.
Harper’s Law was among the new measures in the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act. It is not retrospective, meaning PC Harper’s killers cannot have their sentences extended.
The move extends mandatory life sentences to anyone who commits the manslaughter of an emergency worker on duty including police, prison officers, firefighters and paramedics.
