The widow of Andrew Harper, a police officer killed in the line of duty, says she is ready to ‘find happiness again’.
Lissie Harper, 31, has campaigned tirelessly since her husband died while responding to a crime in August 2019.
The 28-year-old sustained fatal injuries when he was caught on a strap attached to a getaway car and dragged down a road in Sulhamstead, Berkshire.
It was his last shift before the couple were due to go away on their honeymoon.
His three teenage killers, who fled the scene and left the Thames Valley Police traffic officer to die, were cleared of murder but convicted of manslaughter.
Henry Long, 19, was sentenced to 16 years and 18-year-olds Jessie Cole and Albert Bowers were handed 13 years in custody.
The government has backed her calls for Harper’s Law, which imposes life jail sentences for people who kill an emergency services worker while committing a crime.
Once it makes it onto the statue books, Mrs Harper wants to ‘move forwards’ and will retire from public life.
Reflecting on her future in what she expects to be her final media interview, Mrs Harper said: ‘I know for a fact that Andrew would want me to be happy.
‘And I can only tell you that if it was the other way around, I know that I would want him to meet somebody and have all the things that people are supposed to have.
‘Having been in the public eye, I’m sure there’s a lot of opinions about what I should do, what I shouldn’t do, what the right time is and all of that.
‘But essentially, once this is done (the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill gets royal ascent), that’s my life.
‘So yes, I do want to find happiness again.’
Mrs Harper said she was compelled to fight for the law change the day her husband’s killers were acquitted of murder, saying she felt ‘utterly let down sitting there in court while the defendants’ families cheered’.
Her two-year campaign will feature in an ITV documentary, due to be broadcast on Tuesday.
Mrs Harper said she has always disliked the limelight, but knew she had to keep the campaign in the public eye.
She said: ‘The documentary was something that I kind of went back and forth over whether or not to do it.
‘But I felt that it was important to show people the process of the campaign, changing the law, and why I wanted to do it. I felt the justice system was broken.’
She said she feels ‘mentally exhausted’, but thanked the public for supporting her throughout.
Mrs Harper said she now intends to focus on her crafts business, and is not interested in a career in politics.
She said: ‘A lot of people talk about moving on. But you can never move on from grief, it’s always with you.
‘It’s something that you learn to cope with.’
The Killing of PC Harper: A Widow’s Fight for Justice, will be broadcast on ITV1 on Tuesday March 15 at 9pm.
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