Heartbreak of PC’s widow as killers jailed
Relatives of teen thugs gasp and weep at judge’s sentence for ‘wicked’ manslaughter
THE teenage killers of PC Andrew Harper were jailed for a total of 42 years for dragging the hero officer to his death behind their car.
Henry Long, 19, Albert Bowers and Jessie Cole, both 18, looked shellshocked and their relatives gasped and wept as the sentences were handed down.
There had been fears the three thugs would receive light sentences after they were cleared of murder at the Old Bailey last week.
But Mr Justice Edis said yesterday the “wicked” manslaughter of the brave and talented young officer was almost as serious as a deliberate murder.
Long, who was jailed for 16 years, drove the Seat Toledo which dragged PC Harper, 28, after the officer became entangled in a towing strap hanging from the rear of the car.
His fellow killers were each jailed for 13 years. The three, who have spent a year in custody, must serve two-thirds of their sentences behind bars before they can be freed.
After Mr Justice Edis left the court, a woman sitting with PC Harper’s family burst into applause.
Sweetheart
Thames Valley Police rapid response officer PC Harper had married his childhood sweetheart Lissie just four weeks before he was killed.
The court heard he and a colleague had gone to investigate the late-night theft of a £10,000 quad bike in Bradfield Southend, Berkshire, on August 15 last year.
The thieves were towing the quad bike, ridden by Cole, using a long crane strap tied to the car.
As PC Harper and PC Andrew Shaw confronted them Cole leapt off, unhitched the bike and jumped through an open rear window of the Seat.
As PC Harper tried to catch him his ankles were “lassoed” by the strap and he was dragged for nearly a mile at an average of 42mph for 91 seconds. The officer died of catastrophic injuries.
Long and the others said they were unaware they were dragging the unconscious police officer as the car swerved, sometimes at hairraising speeds, along the lanes.
The Old Bailey heard the officers were well beyond the end of their shift but still responded to the call.
Mr Justice Edis said all three had agreed to unhitch the stolen quad bike if they were approached by police and drive as fast and as dangerously as possible to get away.
He said: “You killed a talented and brave young police officer who was going above and beyond his duty in order to provide a public service and you did so because you had deliberately decided to expose any police officer who got in your way to a risk of death. You decided that your freedom to commit crime was more important than his life.
“That was not a spur-of-themoment decision – when confronted by him you carried out a pre-agreed plan. That is a very wicked calculation. It is not as wicked as deliberately intending to cause really serious injury or death but it represents a highly culpable state of mind.” He told ringleader Long, who was 18 at the time, that he would be facing a life sentence if he had been just a few years older.
He said: “I do not believe that if you had known he [PC Harper] was caught up you would have stopped but I do accept that you did not know this until the point at which he became detached.”
He added: “Your own evidence shows you are dangerous. I found it very disturbing. In explaining why you are not guilty of murder, you also explained why you are dangerous.” The judge said Long, a career thief who had never done an honest day’s work, regarded police chases as exciting and “entirely normal behaviour”.
Long, Bowers and Cole denied murder but Long admitted manslaughter earlier this year.They told the jury they were sorry PC Harper had died but the judge said none of them had shown any real remorse.
Mr Justice Edis told Bowers and Cole: “You suffer from learning difficulties which make you more likely to follow the lead of someone who is more capable than you are.” Long and Bowers, both of Mortimer, near Reading, Berkshire, and Cole, of Aldermarston,
Berkshire, were cleared of murder last week.
Bowers and Cole were found guilty of manslaughter. All three admitted conspiracy to steal the quad bike from its owner Peter Wallis. The killers and fellow thief Thomas King tried to steal the quad bike earlier that day but drove off when Mr Wallis spotted them.
The court heard they packed the Seat boot with weapons including crowbars, an axe, a hammer and a pair of choppers.
Mr Justice Edis said there would have been a “volatile and dangerous confrontation” if Mr Wallis had challenged them.
Footage
Long was also jailed for 32 months for conspiracy to steal and Bowers and Cole for 38 months because they entered their guilty pleas at a later stage. The sentences will run concurrently.
As detectives viewed CCTV film to track their movements following PC Harper’s death, they saw footage of King stealing a bag of expensive golf clubs from a shop, the court heard.
King, of Bramley, Hampshire, was jailed for two years.
Police Federation chairman John Apter called for a change in the law so police killers are given whole life jail sentences.
He said: “Those responsible for such a wicked and deliberate crime have forfeited their right to freedom. The killing of a police officer should see those responsible face the rest of their lives in prison.”