Page 4 - WMPF Federation Aug-Sept 2020_Neat

Chair’s introduction

‘It doesn’t seem

to me that justice

has been served’

time when, to be honest, it didn’t seem that murder in its seriousness. That is so, here.”
they could be. Yet, the maximum sentence for
A week before I wrote this piece, news manslaughter is life in prison. They could
broke that the three teenagers had been have been given life sentences.
cleared of the brave PC’s murder but had But instead it is PC Harper’s widow,
been convicted of manslaughter. Lissie, his parents, his family and his friends
PC Harper’s widow, Lissie, slammed the who have the life sentence. Our hearts go
jury for their decision saying it was ‘utterly out to them.
shocking and appalling’. It does not seem to me that justice has
As I write this, the sentencing has just been served, and Lissie clearly feels the
been announced. Jessie Cole and Albert same. A few days after the sentencing, she
Bowers, both 18, each received 13 years in launched a campaign for ‘Andrew’s Law’ to
prison. Getaway driver Henry Long (19) was ensure those convicted of killing police
given 16 years after a 25 per cent reduction officers and other emergency service
in his sentence as he had pleaded guilty. workers face life in prison.
In all honesty, I was surprised they were I do not find myself agreeing with former
cleared of murder. But, at that point, I Prime Minister Theresa May too often but
reserved judgement – or comment – in the back in May 2013, when she was Home
hope that the sentence handed down by the Secretary, I was at the Federation’s annual
judge would reflect the horrific nature of PC conference when she said that criminals
Harper’s death. who kill police officers would face
By Jon Nott, chair of West Midlands Police The judge, Mr Justice Edis, said: compulsory whole life sentences.
Federation “Manslaughter cases range greatly in She stressed that to kill a police officer
seriousness. Sometimes death may be was ‘to attack the fundamental basis of our
hen the news started to break in caused by an act of gross carelessness, society’ and I couldn’t agree more.
mid-August last year that a police sometimes it is very close to a case of It is for this reason that, as a Federation,
Wofficer had been killed on duty, I
don’t think anyone could have expected the As a Federation, we have pushed so hard for
horrific circumstances of his death that
slowly came out over the next few days. “
PC Andrew Harper was just 28 when he tougher sentences on those who assault police
died. He had only been married for four
weeks. The release of some of his wedding officers and we believe those who kill police
photos in the aftermath of the tragedy only
compounded the heart-breaking nature of
his brutal death. officers should get a life sentence. And we
But during the trial of the three
teenagers involved in the incident more believe life should mean life too.
details came out that would only serve to “
make everything seem so much worse, at a

04 federation August/September 2020 www.polfed.org/westmids