POLICE officers have paid tribute to an officer on the three-year anniversary of his death.

PC Andrew Harper, 28, was killed while answering a late-night burglary call.

PC Harper, who grew up in Wallingford, died from his injuries when he was caught in a strap attached to the back of a getaway car and dragged down a winding country road as his teenage killers fled the scene of a quad bike theft.

In an online post this morning, Thames Valley Post said: “On August 15, 2019, PC Andrew Harper attended reports of a burglary and later tragically died as a result of multiple fatal injuries caused when he was dragged along by a vehicle on the A4 Bath Road in Berkshire.”

In June, PC Harper’s widow, Lissie Harper, met MPs to mark the introduction of a change in the law she successfully campaigned for.

The legal reform means anyone convicted of killing an emergency services worker while committing a crime will face a mandatory life sentence

Henry Long, 19, was sentenced to 16 years and 18-year-olds Jessie Cole and Albert Bowers were handed 13 years in custody over the manslaughter of PC Harper.

READ AGAIN: Lissie Harper says husband’s legacy achieved following change in law

Long, the leader of the group, admitted manslaughter, while passengers Cole and Bowers were convicted of manslaughter after a trial at the Old Bailey, in July 2020.

All three were cleared of murder by the jury.

The sentences prompted Mrs Harper to lobby the Government to better protect emergency services workers on the front line.

The law is not retrospective, meaning PC Harper’s killers cannot have their sentences extended.

Read more from this author

This story was written by Liam Rice, he joined the team in 2019 as a multimedia reporter.

Liam covers politics, travel and transport. He occasionally covers Oxford United.

Get in touch with him by emailing: Liam.rice@newsquest.co.uk

Follow him on Twitter @OxMailLiamRice