PC Andrew Harper was killed in the line of duty as he tried to stop three thieves escaping in August last year. Henry Long, 19, and 18-year-olds Jessie Cole and Albert Bowers had stolen a quad bike in Stanford Dingley, Berkshire. Newlywed Harper, 28, made chase after the trio as they drove off in a car.
But the Thames Valley Police officer was caught in a crane strap dangling from the back of a Seat Toledo which was driven by Long, and was dragged to his death.
The three have now been convicted of manslaughter and on Friday at the Old Bailey, Long, of College Piece in Mortimer, was sentenced to 16 years in jail.
Cole, from Paices Hill, Aldermaston, Reading, and Bowers, of Windmill Corner, Mortimer Common, Reading, were each handed 13-year terms.
Now PC Harper’s mother Debbie Adlam has launched a campaign named Andrew’s Law after the sentencing has been seen by many as “too lenient”.
Read More: Andrew’s Law: Widow demands life for anyone who kills 999 worker
Andrew’s Law: PC Andrew Harper was killed in August 2019 as he tried to stop three thieves escaping (Image: PA)
Andrew’s Law: PC Harper’s death shocked the nation last year (Image: PA)
The family are also calling for a retrial for murder after the charges for all three were downgraded to manslaughter.
They have launched a petition to ‘Overturn a miscarriage of justice’ calling for the three men to be retried for murder.
More than 361,500 people have signed the petition, including PC Harper’s mother.
She wrote after signing she was “utterly and bitterly disgusted at the outcome”.
Andrew’s Law: PC Harper’s killers were jailed for manslaughter last week (Image: PA)
What is Andrew’s Law?
Following last week’s sentencing, Mrs Adlam has called for a “mandatory” sentence for killers of police officers.
The campaign, named Andrew’s Law, is pushing for a 20-year minimum sentence for those who kill members of the police service.
Launching her campaign on Wednesday, Mrs Adlam said: “We’ve come to realise that, with the outcome of the trial as it stands, something needs to change.
“He is worth much more than this and we’ve been thinking for some time that something needs to be brought in to protect our police officers.
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“They are going out day after day and they are putting themselves into terrible dangers – I think about the officers that were there that evening when Andrew lost his life and the things that they see and the things that they have to cope with.
“Then they just get their uniform on, and off they go again time and time again, and if somebody doesn’t stand up and look after them when there’s an injury or somebody’s killed – we see from this experience that they are not being protected.
“There’s nobody looking out for them and we aim to change that.”
The law would also see no parole and no reductions on sentences for younger offenders.
Andrew’s Law: PC Harper’s mother Debbie Adlam has launched a campaign named Andrew’s Law (Image: PA)
Mrs Adlam said reductions in sentences for younger offenders “pulls the rug from under what the sentence should be”.
Speaking about the changes she wants to see, Mrs Adlam said: “We want to bring in something called Andrew’s Law – we want to change this so that you are sentenced to a proper amount of time and that defines the crime that you’ve committed.
“I don’t think there’s any sentence that will help us – we will never get past losing him.
“I have sat and watched what started out as a reasonable sentence – our judge was very good and he did everything he could, given the verdict – but then he started making reductions for age and early plea to manslaughter.
Andrew’s Law: PC Harper’s widow is calling for life sentences for those who kill blue light workers (Image: PA)
“So we’re looking to bring in a minimum term – 20 years. No parole, no reductions.”
Also named Andrew’s Law, PC Harper’s widow, 28-year-old Lissie Harper has launched a campaign in her late husband’s name, calling for life sentences for anyone who kills blue light workers.
This includes police officers, nurses, doctors, firefighters and paramedics.
Mrs Harper had married her husband just one month before his death.
She plans to call for a change in the law in high-profile meetings with prime minister, Boris Johnson and home secretary, Priti Patel.
Mrs Harper said: “I pledge to my late husband to never stop until I have made the difference that this country clearly needs.
“I vow to stand strong and firm with so many other honourable people in our country to make the changes that we clearly know to be justified.
“I hope that by creating a new ‘Andrew’s Law’ – that sees any person who commits a crime that results in the death of an emergency worker being jailed for life – that those that have to go through what I have been through in the future get the justice that they rightly deserve.”
Mrs Harper had previously condemned the murder acquittals and wrote to the Prime Minister to ask for a retrial.
