PC Andrew Harper: Killed PC ‘died of multiple injuries’
Detectives investigating the death of a police officer have said he died of “multiple injuries”, as they were given more time to question 10 suspects.
PC Andrew Harper, 28, was responding to a burglary report on Thursday in Berkshire when he was dragged along a road by a vehicle.
Ten males aged between 13 and 30 have been arrested on suspicion of murder.
Thames Valley Police said on Saturday it had been granted an extra 36 hours to question the suspects.
PC Harper, who got married four weeks ago, was killed on the A4 Bath Road in the village of Sulhamstead.
Det Supt Ailsa Kent told a press conference: “A post-mortem was carried out on Andrew’s body and the cause of death has been recorded as multiple injuries.
“The cause of death is consistent with our current belief that Andrew was caught between a vehicle and the road and then dragged for a distance.”
She said the 10 boys and men had been arrested at council-run caravan and mobile home site Four Houses Corner, about three miles from where PC Harper died, and remain in custody.
Officers are carrying out house to house inquiries, reviewing CCTV footage, interviewing witnesses and conducting forensic examinations, Det Supt Kent added.
Forensics officers in white overalls could be seen combing the area as police widened the cordon around the scene earlier.
Thames Valley Police Chief Constable John Campbell said the death of PC Harper had left the entire force “shocked and saddened”.
Mr Campbell said the officer was a “highly regarded, popular member of the team” and his death was a “significant loss” to the force and also to his colleagues and friends.
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PC Harper, who became a regular officer in 2011 after joining as a special constable a year earlier, was killed at the crossroads of Ufton Lane and Lambdens Hill.
He had attended the reported break-in at about 23:30 BST with a fellow officer.
The officer on duty with PC Harper was not physically injured but it being given emotional support, Thames Valley Police said.
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