THE teenagers who killed PC Andrew Harper were seen smirking and laughing at court.
They avoided murder charges and were instead convicted on manslaughter, pushing widow Lissie Harper to fight for Harper's Law.
Who are PC Andrew Harper's killers?
Henry Long, 19, Jessie Cole and Albert Bowers, both 18, hugged each other to the sound of their cheering families as the verdict of not guilty to murder was read out in court.
Bowers and Cole were instead convicted of the lesser charge of manslaughter – which Long had previously admitted.
Henry Long, 19
Henry Long was sentenced to 16 years in prison.
He was driving a car at "breakneck speed" which swung PC Andrew Harper "like a pendulum" along a country lane on August 15, 2019.
At the time of the charges Long said: "I don't give a f*** about any of this."
He later plead guilty to manslaughter, although the charge was for murder.
Defence barrister Rossano Scamardella QC said: "You pleaded guilty to manslaughter – why?
Long replied: "Because I accept that I killed him from what I was doing, the way I was driving."
The lawyer asked: "How do you feel?" The defendant said: "Disgraceful."
He denied hearing or noticing anything being dragged behind the car.
Albert Bowers, 18
Bowers was in the car as a passenger when PC Harper was killed.
According to Long, the passengers were shouting to "go this way, go that way, slow down."
He told them to shut up and put music on.
During the trial, Bowers fell asleep as the prosecutor showed footage of Harper's ordeal.
He was given 13 years in jail.
Jessie Cole, 18
Cole was also a passenger in the car at the time.
He was pictured smirking and laughing along with his friends when they arrived at court.
He was given the same sentence as Bowers, 13 years behind bars.
Detective Superintendent Stuart Blaik said the defendants had shown no remorse or helped police piece together what happened during the investigation.
Long pleaded guilty to PC Harper's manslaughter not because it was "the right thing to do" but because of "overwhelming evidence", he explained.
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What happened to PC Andrew Harper?
PC Andrew Harper, a rapid response officer with the force’s roads and traffic command.
He attended a suspected burglary with a colleague at 11.30pm on Thursday, August 15, 2019.
He had just left his vehicle when he was struck by a car at a country crossroads, close to Sulhamstead and the A4 Bath Road between Reading and Newbury.
He fell beneath the vehicle and was dragged a “considerable” distance, entangled with a tow rope.
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Jurors were told how the traveller teens had tried to steal a £10,000 bike from the home of Peter Wallis in remote Bradfield Southend, when they were apprehended by PC Harper.
The gang had cased the property earlier in the day and later returned masked and armed with an axe, crowbars and a length of pipe to use against anyone in their way.
They disabled their SEAT Toledo’s rear lights and taped over the number plate but were seen by Mr Wallis taking the Honda TRX500 quad bike and roping its handlebars to the back of the car.
But PC Harper and his colleagues came across the gang driving towards them on narrow Admoor Lane.
Cole unhitched the bike and dived through a passenger window to escape the hero cop who had got out of the unmarked BMW police car.
PC Harper’s ankles got caught in a tow rope attached to the suspects' getaway car.
He was dragged along the stretch of road at up to 60mph by the SEAT in horrendous circumstances.
The court heard he would have been rendered unconscious almost immediately and was unable to free himself.
PC Harper’s body was completely naked apart from his socks when discovered by the officer’s horrified colleagues.
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The officer was "barely alive" but died at the scene a short time later.
His tragic and agonising death was just four weeks after marrying sweetheart Lissie Beckett.
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