Who was Andrew Harper and what was his cause of death?
NEWLYWED Andrew Harper was killed while on duty as a police officer just one month after his wedding.
His wife, Lissie Harper, 30, has been fighting for a new law ever since his killers were charged with manslaughter.
Who was Andrew Harper?
Andrew Harper was an English cop who was tragically killed just weeks after his wedding to Lissie Beckett in July of 2019.
Harper was trying to stop three teens from stealing a four-wheeler bike when his ankles were caught in a towrope of a vehicle.
Jurors were told at a trial that the cop would have been rendered unconscious almost immediately, meaning he would not have been able to free himself.
What was his cause of death?
On August 15, 2019, three teens – Henry Long, 19, Jessie Cole, and Albert Bowers, both 18 – were stealing a quad bike.
Harper arrived at the scene and wound up trapped in a tow rope attached to their getaway vehicle.
The car, driving at “breakneck speed,” struck Harper “like a pendulum,” jurors were told at a trial.
He was dragged along behind the car for about one mile, at speeds of around 60mph.
Harper was “barely alive” when his colleagues found him, and he died at the scene.
All of his clothes were ripped from his body aside from his socks.
He had been married just four weeks before the horrific incident and was set to go on his honeymoon days later.
Who are the three suspects?
The three teens – Long, Bowers, and Cole – were all in the car that resulted in Harper’s death.
Long, then 19, was driving the vehicle; Bowers and Cole, both 18, were passengers.
CCTV from before the incident showed the teens driving around, reportedly looking for something to steal.
At their trial, the jury learned Harper was being dragged behind the vehicle while Long told his passengers to “put the music on.”
He apparently shouted at his passengers to shut up while he was driving away.
Long said during the trial that he did not hear or notice anything behind the car.
Were there any charges in the cop’s death?
Long was initially charged with murder and conspiracy to steal.
At the time of the charges – September 18, 2019 – Long said: “I don’t give a f**k about any of this.”
All three teens denied murder.
Long admitted to killing the officer during a trial, however, and said it made him feel “disgraceful.”
The 19-year-old pleaded guilty to manslaughter.
Cole and Bowers were also found guilty of manslaughter after two days of jury deliberation.
Long was sentenced to 16 years in jail; the passengers were sentenced to 13 years each.
The boys were seen laughing and smirking throughout their trial at the Old Bailey in London.
At one point, Bowers seemingly fell asleep while lawyers showed footage of the incident.
What has his wife Lissie Harper said?
Harper’s heartbroken widow, Lissie, said she faces her “own life sentence” after the teens were cleared of murder charges.
She described her late husband as “selfless, beautiful and heroic,” and called his killers “senseless, barbaric and brutal.”
Lissie cried when the teens were cleared of murder and said she was “immensely disappointed” in the verdict.
Since the trial, she has campaigned for Harper’s Law in the United Kingdom – which the government has also backed.
The law would make anyone found guilty of unlawfully killing an emergency service worker receive a life sentence.
She said: “I pledge to my late husband to never stop until I have made the difference that this country clearly needs.
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“I vow to stand strong and firm with so many other honorable people in our country to make the changes that we clearly know to be justified.”
Two years later, on what would have been Andrew’s 30th birthday, she said it was still very surreal to her that he was gone.