Death of Andrew Harper

Harper, who grew up in Wallingford, initially joined Thames Valley Police as a special constable in 2010 at the age of 19, before joining as a regular police constable in 2011.[1] He joined Thames Valley Police's road policing proactive team approximately six weeks before his death,[2] and was based at the force's Abingdon station.[3] On 18 July 2019, Harper married his partner of 13 years, Lissie Harper.[4][5] They had been expecting to go on their official honeymoon in mid-August. Harper worked for the Thames Valley road policing unit.[1]

At 23:17 on 15 August 2019, Thames Valley Police received a 999 call from a property near Stanford Dingley, Berkshire, reporting a burglary-in-progress and theft of a quad bike.[6][7] Harper and fellow constable Andrew Shaw, who were finishing a surveillance shift in Reading,[2] responded to the call in their unmarked BMW police car.[1][7][8] At 23:28, Shaw and Harper happened upon a SEAT Toledo towing the stolen quad bike on Admoor Lane near Bradfield Southend. Harper, the passenger of the BMW, alighted the police vehicle and ran to the suspects' vehicle.[9] In doing so, he was caught in a strap[lower-alpha 1] that had been used to tow the quad bike.[11] With the quad bike no longer attached, the suspects drove south-east on Lambden's Hill with Harper "lassoed" to rear of the SEAT vehicle.[13] Shaw lost sight of the SEAT but in his pursuit found Harper's stab vest in the road.[9] The SEAT, with Harper still being dragged behind, arrived at the lane's junction with the A4 Bath Road—approximately 1 mile (1.6 km) from where the police came upon the suspects.[8][13] The SEAT crossed the A4 into Ufton Lane near Sulhamstead, and Harper became disentangled.[11] At 23:30, Shaw received a radio transmission from another responding officer which warned of "a body in the road"; Shaw replied that he believed the body was that of Harper.[2][9] Shaw arrived at the location to find another officer tending to Harper,[14] who was pronounced deceased by paramedics at 23:45.[7][11]

The SEAT was later found at a council-run travellers' caravan site near Burghfield Common[15] by a police helicopter using thermal imaging.[10][16]

At 12:50 on 16 August, police arrested an 18-year-old male and a 17-year-old male at the caravan site.[10] In a separate operation, a 20-year-old man from Pingewood was arrested on suspicion of murder.[17] A second 17-year-old male was also later arrested. Media reported that in total, 10 males aged between 13 and 30 had been arrested.[16] On 19 August, the 20-year-old was charged with murder.[17]

On 17 August, Thames Valley Police's Major Crimes Unit stated that a post mortem performed the previous day gave Harper's cause of death as "multiple injuries", which was congruent with their theory that he had been "caught between a vehicle and the road, and then dragged for a distance".[8] The post mortem also showed that Harper had sustained a "very severe" brain injury.[18]

On 18 September, the 18-year-old male and two 17-year-old males were charged with murder.[17] A fourth male, a 21-year-old from Basingstoke, was charged with conspiracy to steal a quad bike and subsequently pleaded guilty to the charge.[19][20] On 19 September, the Crown Prosecution Service announced that they had discontinued the case against the 20-year-old.[19]

The murder trial, presided over by Mr. Justice Andrew Edis, began at the Old Bailey on 10 March 2020.[21] The two youngest defendants—both 17-year-old males at the time of the offence[lower-alpha 2]—pleaded guilty conspiracy to steal a quad bike[11] but denied manslaughter.[22] A third defendant, an 18-year-old from Berkshire who was driving the SEAT,[7] had previously admitted manslaughter and conspiracy to steal a quad bike.[22] All three defendants deny murder.[10]

On 13 March, the court heard that all parties agree that the police constable first to attend to Harper on the A4 did not strike him with his vehicle, contrary to early reports of the incident.[2][23][24]

The trial was temporary suspended on 17 and 18 March as a juror exhibited symptoms of a cold, although Edis deemed it unlikely she had contracted COVID-19.[21] The trial resumed on 19 March with two jurors absent through self-isolation,[12] although all jury trials in England and Wales were suspended on 23 March pending a review of operations amid the spread of COVID-19 in the UK.[25] Because of the Covid-19 pandemic, the trial was abandoned and a retrial started on 23 June.[26]

On 27 October 2019, 5,000 motorcyclists took part in a "ride of respect" between RAF Benson and Abingdon Airfield.[4] On 28 January 2020, Harper was given a posthumous award by the Police Federation of England and Wales.[27] In June 2020, Thames Valley Police announced that they had named the newest horse of their mounted section "Harper" as a tribute.[28]

• List of British police officers killed in the line of duty