Warning: Graphic content, readers’ discretion advised. This article contains a recollection of crime and can be triggering to some readers discretion advised.
Most on-duty officers don’t expect to lose their lives on the job, but sometimes tragedy happens.
On the evening of August 15, 2019, in the quiet village of Sulhamstead, Berkshire, a routine call about a reported burglary in progress took a devastating turn.
PC Andrew Harper, a dedicated law enforcement officer serving with Thames Valley Police in the United Kingdom, responded to the scene, unaware that this would be his last call.
But what really happened? And how did a simple routine call turn into a horrific murder case?
Lets explore the shocking case of the three teens who killed a cop and fled…..
lets talk about our main character. who also is the victim in this story . we know andrew harper was a law enforcement officer but he´s more than that .
son,husband and friend.
Andrew james harper was born march 22, 1991 and reaised in wallingford, united kingdom he grew up in an average family .
as a kid he was inspired to become an aofficer fthe law.
after he graduated from heninley college , harper desided to join the tames valley force to become a special constable in 2010.
then in 2011 he changed his career and joined the regular constable area to become a PC working from the abington station .
for those of yhou who aren´t familiar with ther term constable , they are similar similar tto law emforcement officers in the United states
In UK law enforcement officers are often referred to as a the PC.
While in United states law emforcememt officers are commonly known as officers. terminology can vary depending on specific agency and state with title ,like patrol officer,sheriff´s debuty ,or trooper .
Anywas ,back to the story of Andrew harper. so haper´s dream cam true.
he bacame a PC. like he always wanted .
and even happier, he married , he married his child hood sweatheart,and partner of 14 years in 2019 ,lissie harper.
the couple started their new lives and were prepared to live throudg manty milestones.together .
but on the fatful day of August 15th,2019 ,things would take a completely devastating turn.
On this night a man called authorities to report that there were three individuals,wearing masks and wheel buing weapons,
outside of his home in birkshire, he could see them searching around the front of his home attempting to get in to get in to his garage.
and he informed the disapatcher that he could see them steeling his quad bike and wanted to go outside to confront them.
however a dispatcher warned him against it because the men had weapons.
the people steeling the quide bike would turn out to be three teenagers.they had been cruising around the area of stanford digley berkshild earlier that morning looking for things to steel.
the teens had their eyes on a quide bike. and decided that they were going to take it from someones property.
and guess what? it turned out, the owner peter wallace had already confronted earlier that morning about trying to stea things from him.
they did denied it and left , but apparently that was not the end.
they returned later that night and succesfully stole the bike from home but not before the owner spotted them and called for help .
when the call came in , harper and a fellow constable were near the area so they responded to the call .
harper and his partner located the teens driving on a small family vehicle and towing a quide bike in the rear. the two went after the car and on the dash cam footage you can see jesse cole jump out from their vehicle to unstrap the quide bike.
and qucklt jump back into scape he three never even mada an attempt to stop ,at one point harper , abandoned the patrolling vehicle to run after the quide bike.trying to get the three people in the car to stop .
unfortunately the situation took the turn for the worst .
harper got caught on the strap that was used to tow the quide bike.
and before he knew it the vehicle took off again and dragging him with it.
the quide bake was no longer secure to the car and was left o at the side of the road ,but harper being to his doom by the driver .
henry long and and his two accomplices.
its unclear wheter the three knew that they were dragging a constable along the road with their car. but we know that they didn´t stop. even when being chased by another officer.
harper’s was terrified by the turn of the events.he did not knwo what to do expet call for back up as he tried his best to follow the vehicle that harper was attached to.
in the footage you could see the car speeding off and harper’s belongings being scattered on the side of the road.a simple case of theft had turned into a life or death struggle
most officers responded to the call and were in persuit of the teens . law enforcement officers attempted to stop them multiple times on ther road but the teens kept fleeing
it’s unbelievable how they thought that they actually get away.
Teens do a lot of irrantional things but this was beyond stupid ,but the three did manage to outrun authorities for a while
at one point haper who was still draggling from the car became untangled from it and lay lifelesson on the road . his partner heard over the radio that was a body on the road being reported and he knew immediately that it was harper
Harper was barely alive when they found him , harper had sustained multiple life- threatening injures and the paramedics tried their best to save him, sadly harper didn’t make it and was pronounced dead at the scene.
Imagine harper´s last moments before he died ,he must gave been terrified.and traumatized
No PC expects to die on the job.thought they know it is a possibility,but this was something that no one saw coming.
everything happened so fast and the criminals just drove off , without even a thought of what they had done.
using helicopters and thermal imaging authorities eventually located the teens car at a mobile home park.
At the scene of the arrest the teens refused to admit that they were the ones that caused the terrifying incident that cause harper’s death.
PC andrew harper became dislodged from the strapping loop on this country lane,after being dragged at speeds of more than 40 m an hour he suffered catastrophic injuries and was barely alive.
despite the efforts of his colleagues to save him, he died here a short time later .
meanwhile the heartbreaking news reached harpers family,he was only 28 years old when he passed away .and had been married for just a few weeks, the young couple hadn’´t even had their honeymoon yet.
The PC´s autopsy was available the next day .
and it concluded that his cause of death due to multiple injuries sustained from being dragged behind a vehicle for about a mile.
It was also stated that harper suffered a severe brain injury and was unconscious when his head hit the ground
the 28 year old suffered a terrifying death at the hands of irrational and irresponsible people.
by the loss of their love one and demanded justice to be served.
Jesse, Cole Albert Bower
the first trial took place march 10, 2020. albert bowers and jesse Cole who was miners at the time pleaded guilty to conspiracy to steal quad bike but denied man´s slaughter.
Henry Long
then we have henry long, who was no longer a minor during the trial . he pleaded guilty to manslaughter and to conspiracy to steel a quide bike
all three of them denied their murder charges.
like any other trial this one took up a bit of time and was prolonged multiple times due to the pandemic.therefore the sentencing was delayed until the summer 2020.
on july 24,2020 the three teens were found not guilty of murder but guilty of manslaughter
on july 31st 2020 henry long was sentenced to 16 years in prison.
while jesse cole and albert bowers was sentenced 13 years
After the sentencing the judge made it clear that while they may have escaped the charge of murder ,they were far from getting off lightly .
according to him their actions accounted to an extremely serious case of manslaughter,characterized by what he called a wicked calculation.
allthough it couldn’´t be proven that they knew PC harper was caught in the tow rope.
their actions said it all.
the judge made an effort to emphasize the gravity of the situation.
PC harper a dedicated and courageous police officer who went abow and beyond the call of duty .
had tragically lost his life because of their deliberate choice to expose any officer in their way to risk of death.and he refuse to believe that the three had shown any remorse.
Henry Long
while address henry long, the judge didnt´hesitate,he expressed deep concern about Long´s potential danger to society, suggesting that he the potential to take another life,if he was allowed to continue with what he was doing.
this sentence enraged many people because they find it justice ,the majority of the public believed that these three should have been found guilty of murder and given life sentences.
but what upset the public the most was when the teens were not remorseful for what they have done.
footage of them smiling and joking as they were guided out of the courtroom .
after their first hearing started surfacing on the news .causing an uproar of outrage.
harpers family was so devastated, especially his widow.lissie harper.and decided to speak out about the case.she not only shared her own thoughts in a victim impact statement
but also wrote an open letter , in that letter she asked the prime minister. boris johnson and home secretary priti patel to consider a retrial, specifically aiming for a murder conviction.
the teens have since tried to appeal their sentence but it was rejected by the court.
harper´s funural took place on october 14 , 2019 .at christ church cathedral in Oxford .
and over 800 people attended the service
many people from the community lined the streets to watch the procession
On october 27th 2019
a ride of respect ,involving 5,000 motorcyclist occured between RAF and Benson and Abington Airfield.
October 24th 2021
the ministry of justice revealed that they would be introducing a new law .
Harper´s law.
This law would make it mandatory for anyone who causes the death of an emergency worker on duty ,like police ,prison officers,firefighters and paramedics during the commission of another crime to receive a life sentence, this would be the rule unless there are truly exceptional circumstances.
home security priti patel and justice security dominic raab . Acknowledge that was lissie harpers campaign,that persuaded them to pass the law.
it’s important to note that harpers law wouldn’t change the sentences of the three men who are already in prison for the killing of andrew harper.
this was an unfortunate and depressing case ,considering PC harper was such a young and dedicated individual .
he and his partner responded to an incident that they weren’t required to but thry stil did it of a sense of duty .
PC harper’s death was the result of a foolish game of delinquency caused by three irresponsible teenageres who prioritized their freedom and recklessness over someones life.
it was a tragedy that these people weren’t given the proper legal punishment for their crimes.
