Pc Andrew Harper latest: Ten remain in custody after officers raid council-run travellers’ site following death of newlywed policeman

The Thames Valley police officer with his wife Lissie at the couple's wedding just four weeks ago
Mark Lord via AP
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Ten suspects remain in custody after a newlywed policeman was killed while investigating a burglary in Reading, just four weeks after his wedding.

Pc Andrew Harper, a 28-year-old roads policing officer, died following a "serious incident" on Thursday night in Sulhamstead, west Berkshire.

The officer, who was recently married, was dragged along the road by a vehicle in front of a shocked colleague, police said.

Thames Valley Police said 10 boys and men aged between 13 and 30 were arrested on suspicion of murder and held in custody overnight at various police stations in the force area.

Pc Andrew Harper with his wife Lissie

The suspects were detained within an hour of the incident after offficers descended on Four Houses Corner, a council-run travellers’ site around three miles away from the scene.

A source told The Telegraph: “Everyone was ordered out of the caravans, including the women and children."

Chief Constable John Campbell said Pc Harper was at the scene with a fellow officer and was out of his police car when the incident took place.

"What we do know is Andrew had been dragged along by a vehicle," he added

He added that officers are working "hard and diligently to find out what happened".

A post-mortem examination is taking place to establish the cause of death.

One witness, who did not want to be named, told the Daily Mail that Pc Harper's colleague was crouched over his body which was lying on the lane.

They added: "The officer's crewmate was shouting, saying 'stay with me, stay with me. Keep breathing'."

Mr Campbell said Pc Harper joined the force as a special constable in 2010 before becoming a police officer a year later, serving in the Roads Policing Proactive Unit based at Abingdon Police Station.

He added that the officer "only married four weeks ago". Pictures show Pc Harper and his new wife Lissie celebrating their wedding at the award-winning stately venue Ardington House, a Georgian manor in Oxfordshire set in gardens and parkland.

Relatives described the day as a "dream wedding".

Pc Harper with bride Lissie at their 'dream' wedding (AP)
Mark Lord via AP

Mr Campbell said Pc Harper was a "highly regarded, popular member of the team", adding: "Everybody I've spoken to about Andrew talked about the incredible personality he was, what a fantastic police officer, and what a great friend and man he was, and he'll be sorely missed by everybody."

He said: "My thanks go to all those staff and officers who attended this incident, as well as our colleagues at the fire service and also the ambulance service for their professionalism and support at what you can imagine was obviously a distressing scene."

He added that the force's flags are flying at half mast as a sign of respect "in honour and memory of Andrew".

The incident took place at the crossroads of Ufton Lane and Lambdens Hill, near to the village of Sulhamstead - near Bucklebury where Carole and Michael Middleton, the mother and father of the Duchess of Cambridge, live.

Thames Valley police officer killed while investigating burglary

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On Friday, forensic investigators could be seen gathering items that lay on the road and taking photographs, and two white tents were erected.

Police were also seen searching the inside of a grey BMW that was at the scene, according to witnesses.

Pictures of the scene show a blood trail on the road leading across the junction.

Police officers laid two bunches of flowers inside the cordon, while other officers guarded the perimeter.

A police officer lays flowers at the scene
EPA

On Friday evening there was a police presence at a caravan site near Burghfield Common, not far from where the incident took place.

Pc Harper is the first officer to be killed on duty since March 2017, when unarmed Pc Keith Palmer was stabbed by Khalid Masood during the Westminster Bridge terror attack.

The incident comes after a police constable was run over by a suspected car thief in Birmingham last week.

The married 42-year-old traffic officer from West Midlands Police is facing "potentially life-changing" injuries, a senior officer told the Press Association.

This came just days after Metropolitan Police constable Stuart Outten, 28, was left with head and hand injuries after challenging a motor offences suspect allegedly armed with a machete in Leyton, east London.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson called Pc Harper's murder a "mindless and brutal" crime, saying he was "shocked and appalled" by the attack.

Mr Johnson's comments followed his pledge to hire 20,000 more police officers and an announcement of a range of investments to boost the criminal justice system. He also vowed to see violent offenders locked up for longer as a result of an "urgent review" of sentencing laws.

Deputy Police and Crime Commissioner for the Thames Valley, Matthew Barber, said the incident raises the issue of whether officers should be routinely armed.

Speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live's Stephen Nolan, he said: "Undoubtedly this has raised the issue of arming police routinely. I think we need to await the outcome of this investigation, it's not clear at the moment whether that would have made any difference in these circumstances anyway.

"I think one of the great things about British policing is that officers aren't routinely armed. That's obviously a point for discussion going forward.

"Officers I talk to regularly have conflicting views about this, but the majority of officers I talk to feel that actually the unarmed police force that we have is a huge strength in this country.

"There's issues of course about the use of Taser: a sort of half-way house between arming officers fully with firearms or not, but I don't think today is the day for that sort of discussion.

"It's a matter of condolences to Andrew Harper's family, the force as a whole and police across the country who will feel this great loss of an officer."

Witnesses or anyone with information are asked to call police on 101.

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