HERO TO THE END
Family’s tributes to officer killed on burglary call
THE shattered family of traffic cop Andrew Harper branded him “a hero until the end” yesterday as detectives combed a traveller site for clues about his death.
The 28-year-old newlywed died after being dragged beneath a getaway van as he tried to stop a burglary late on Thursday night.
He married Lissie, also 28, less than a month ago and had been due to go on honeymoon next week.
Andrew’s half-sister Kate Hopkins, 30, wrote: “Forever my brother. A hero until the end. The best friend ever.”
Ten males aged 13 to 30 have been arrested on suspicion of his murder, and forensics teams searched a local authority caravan site near Burghfield Common, Berkshire. Police are set to continue quizzing the 10 today.
Andrew’s uncle Mark yesterday called for more legal protection for police. He
If any good comes of it, it has to be a greater deterrent
PC HARPER’S UNCLE MARK ON TRAGIC LOSS
said: “If any good can come of something as tragic as this, it has to be a greater deterrent to criminals.”
He added: “We’re a closeknit family. We are supporting one another at the h moment, we’re all just so shattered.”
Dad Philip, 54, said: “We’re devastated, we’re in a bad place.” The family also released a wedding day photo of Andrew.
He died at around 11.30pm on Thursday after being dragged “several hundred metres” under a van. He was then reportedly hit by a police dog unit also responding to the burglary call in Sulhamstead, near Reading.
Det Supt Ailsa Kent, of Thames Valley Police’s Major Crime Unit, said: “A postmortem was carried out and the cause of death recorded as multiple injuries.
“The cause of death is consistent with our current belief that Andrew was caught between a vehicle and the road and then dragged for a distance.
“Within an hour of the incident, we arrested 10 males aged between 13 and 30 on suspicion of murder.”
Andrew – remembered in floral tributes as “Thames Valley’s finest” – had signed up for a 20-mile charity obstacle race next May, hoping to raise £500 for Children with Cancer UK.
Donations on his page for the Dirty Weekend event have now passed £7,600.
Reading Football Club will pay tribute to him with a minute’s silence ahead of today’s home game against Cardiff.