Brandon Ellingson: Drowning, Piercy Conviction, and $9M Settlement

Brandon Ellingson’s drowning happened on May 31, 2014, when the 20-year-old Iowa college student went overboard from a Missouri State Highway Patrol boat while handcuffed behind his back, wearing a life vest the trooper had fastened improperly. He could not swim or stay afloat and died in the water. The state later paid his family $9 million, the trooper pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor, and his peace officer license was revoked, though he was hired in 2023 as a Missouri probation and parole officer.

What Happened on the Lake of the Ozarks

Trooper Anthony Piercy stopped Ellingson on suspicion of boating while intoxicated.¹ He handcuffed Ellingson behind his back and put him on the patrol boat for transport.²

Piercy then put a life jacket on him. He chose a Type III vest, though Highway Patrol policy called for a Type I or Type II for someone in custody. The Type III had three chest buckles and a fourth strap meant to pass between the wearer’s legs. Piercy later admitted he was “in a hurry” and did not know about the leg strap. With Ellingson’s hands cuffed behind him, Piercy fastened only the front buckles and never removed the handcuffs to secure the vest properly.³

When the boat hit a wave, Ellingson went over the side. The loosely fastened vest came off almost immediately. He drowned.⁴

A Morgan County coroner’s inquest ruled the death accidental on September 4, 2014, declining to find Piercy criminally reckless. Patrol boat audio later showed contradictions between Piercy’s inquest testimony and what he had told his supervisor on the scene. He testified at the inquest that he saw Ellingson stand up before falling in, but on the recording he told his supervisor, “I don’t know if he tried to stand up or what but he just went right over the side.” He also testified that he heard Ellingson moan in the water, a detail absent from his original account.³

The Criminal Case Against Trooper Piercy

A first special prosecutor, appointed in August 2014, declined to file charges. After that prosecutor recused, a second was appointed in March 2015, and in December 2015 charged Piercy with involuntary manslaughter, a felony.⁵ The Highway Patrol placed him on leave without pay.

In September 2017, before trial, Piercy pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of negligent operation of a vessel, a Class B misdemeanor.⁶ A judge in Versailles sentenced him to 10 days in county jail, two years of supervised probation, and 50 hours of community service.⁷ The plea avoided a felony conviction.

At sentencing, Piercy told the Ellingson family, “I know that nothing I will say will ease the pain of the Ellingson family, and I will never forget that I am the cause of that pain.”⁶

The $9 Million Settlement

In December 2014, Craig and Sherry Ellingson and their daughter Jennifer filed a federal wrongful death suit in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri. It named Piercy and more than fifteen other state and county employees and alleged negligent hiring, training, and supervision, among other claims.⁸ A central claim was that the 2011 merger of the Missouri Water Patrol into the Highway Patrol had left dangerous gaps in training.⁹

On November 17, 2016, Missouri agreed to pay the family $9 million to settle the case.¹⁰ Family attorney Tom Burke said, “You could add seven zeros to the figure and it wouldn’t bring Brandon back.”¹

Firing, Reinstatement, and Loss of License

After Piercy’s guilty plea, the Highway Patrol’s Disciplinary Review Board unanimously found on December 11, 2017, that he had violated policy but should be reinstated and transferred away from Troop F. Four days later, Superintendent Col. Sandra Karsten rejected that recommendation and fired him, writing that “the final decision regarding discipline of Patrol employees rests with me.”¹¹

Piercy sued. In 2018, Cole County Judge Patricia S. Joyce ruled that Karsten had exceeded her authority under Missouri Revised Statute § 43.150, which lets the superintendent order dismissal only when the review board recommends it and otherwise limits her to lesser penalties such as suspension, fine, demotion, or transfer. The Missouri Court of Appeals affirmed in August 2019.¹¹¹²

On a separate track, the Missouri Department of Public Safety revoked Piercy’s peace officer license in July 2018, which would keep him out of any law enforcement job in the state.¹³ A Cole County judge reversed that revocation in May 2019 on procedural grounds, finding the department had failed to issue formal findings of fact.¹⁴ The department re-revoked the license the next month. Deputy Director Kenny Jones said Piercy’s actions violated Missouri law and that “an individual in custody is entitled to safe treatment from his arresting officer.”¹⁵

The litigation closed in early 2020. Piercy dismissed three pending lawsuits against the Highway Patrol, the Department of Public Safety, and its director. In exchange, the state paid him $201,217, consisting of $126,217 in back pay and benefits for the period between his sentencing and the first revocation and $75,000 from the state’s Legal Expense Fund. He agreed to permanently give up reinstatement and not to contest the license revocation.¹⁶

Where Piercy Works Now

In June 2024, the Kansas City Star reported that Piercy had been working as a probation and parole officer for the Missouri Department of Corrections since 2023. The Department of Public Safety confirmed that its POST licensing program does not cover probation and parole officers, so the revoked peace officer license did not legally disqualify him. A Department of Corrections spokesperson said a misdemeanor conviction does not bar an applicant.⁹

Craig Ellingson told the paper: “I’m disappointed in the state of Missouri, whoever hired him. They knew what he did and didn’t care. He shouldn’t be anywhere near law enforcement.” He added, “He needs a parole officer, he doesn’t need to be a parole officer. Taxpayers are funding someone who killed my son.”⁹

The Training Gap the Case Exposed

The drowning drew legislative scrutiny to the 2011 merger of the Missouri Water Patrol into the Highway Patrol. A Missouri House Review Committee report issued in January 2015 found steep drops in water-specific training. Water patrol officers had received 1,123 hours of training before the merger, including 281 hours focused on boating and swimming. Afterward, designated marine trainees received 175 hours of water training, and highway trooper candidates assigned to water duty received just 36 hours. The committee found that cross-training for troopers on water assignments was left to individual troop commanders and was neither “consistent” nor “standardized.”¹⁷

The committee recommended formal swimming standards, annual recertification for all marine and command officers, improved boater safety education, and renovation of the patrol’s swim training facility. Highway Patrol leadership said it would implement the recommendations.¹⁸

Craig Ellingson has been direct about where the responsibility lies: “You can’t blame the lake, or the people. It was Tony Piercy that did it.”¹

1
KCCI. Missouri to Settle Brandon Ellingson Drowning Suit for $9M
2
Columbia Tribune. No Answers Forthcoming in Handcuffed Drowning
3
Columbia Tribune. Video Reveals Discrepancies in Handcuffed Drowning
4
Des Moines Register. Brandon Ellingson Drowning Missouri State Trooper Anthony Piercy
5
Missouri State Highway Patrol. MSHP Timeline of Events
6
KCCI. Trooper Sentenced to Probation in Death of Brandon Ellingson
7
KRCG TV. Piercy Receives Sentence to 10 Days in Jail, 2 Years Probation
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GovInfo. Ellingson v. Piercy, No. 2:14-CV-04316-NKL
9
Kansas City Star. Former Trooper Anthony Piercy Hired by Missouri Corrections
10
Des Moines Register. Ellingson Family Get $9 Million Drowning Settlement
11
Kansas City Star. Piercy Ruling on Superintendent Authority
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FindLaw. Piercy v. Missouri State Highway Patrol, WD 82123
13
KRCG TV. Anthony Piercy’s Peace Officers License Revoked
14
Radio Iowa. Former Missouri Trooper Involved in Iowan’s Death Loses License Again
15
Kansas City Star. Piercy License Revoked Again
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Kansas City Star. Piercy Settlement Details
17
St. Louis Public Radio. Missouri Lawmakers Question Merger of Missouri Highway Patrol, Water Patrol
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Springfield News-Leader. Guest Voice: Correct Water Training Deficiencies for Troopers