GUILTY MO - Brandon Ellingson, 20, falls off police boat & drowns, Versailles, 31 May 2014

[Nova]

I am so tired of the sue mentality also? I don't get it? Maybe the kids parents should be sued?

However, it does have to be investigated. I do have questions, but the LAST thing that crossed my mind was "sue."

But once a suspect has been restrained, who but LE can be held responsible for the suspect's health and well being?

 

[Laughing]

But once a suspect has been restrained, who but LE can be held responsible for the suspect's health and well being?

Let's step aside & consider the death of Ariel Castro for a moment...he's the first name to come to mind....

 

[nao]

they could of cuffed him to boat. the water police have rules or should have, in custody, their responsibilty.
i have had many a cocktail on a boat, - if somebody is being a yahoo,, sure take them in, but you have to keep them safe- was not that the reason they detained him in the first place, they must of thought he was not to be able to be responsible . well oops

 

[MyBelle]

they could of cuffed him to boat. the water police have rules or should have, in custody, their responsibilty.
i have had many a cocktail on a boat, - if somebody is being a yahoo,, sure take them in, but you have to keep them safe- was not that the reason they detained him in the first place, they must of thought he was not to be able to be responsible . well oops

and if the boat flipped and he was cuffed to it, he would have drowned and some would be blaming the cops. There is a factor of personal responsibility in all this.

I think all the police are required to do is exercise reasonable care of someone in their custody. If the guy had stayed seated, he wouldn't have gone overboard. If the guy hadn't been drinking and driving, he wouldn't have been in custody.

A witness saw him with the life vest on in the water and saw it separate. It is still unknown why it separated.

JMO

 

[Karmady]

But once a suspect has been restrained, who but LE can be held responsible for the suspect's health and well being?

He wasn't completely restrained. He was responsible for standing up. He also was responsible for being arrested in the first place. He also could have killed someone's lovely daughter being drunk in a boat on a lake - which would have made him the opposite of a victim through no fault of his own. jmo

 

[CHERIE.T]

Life vest are made to stay on and save lives.
The vest wasn't put on correctly, I'll bet the farm on it.

 

[Nova]

Let's step aside & consider the death of Ariel Castro for a moment...he's the first name to come to mind....

You'll have to refresh my memory. I recognize the name but I don't recall the details.

 

[Nova]

He wasn't completely restrained. He was responsible for standing up. He also was responsible for being arrested in the first place. He also could have killed someone's lovely daughter being drunk in a boat on a lake - which would have made him the opposite of a victim through no fault of his own. jmo

To my knowledge, nobody is quarreling with the arrest per se. The issue is LE's responsibility once a drunken suspect is in their custody.

1. They knew he was drunk, which is why they arrested him. So he wasn't in a state to make sound decisions.
2. They knew his mobility was limited by handcuffs.

Why was he left alone where he had the opportunity to stand up and fall or jump overboard? Why wasn't an officer assigned to stay with him?

Sorry, but although the deceased bears responsibility as well, the police in this case were negligent.

 

[Karmady]

To my knowledge, nobody is quarreling with the arrest per se. The issue is LE's responsibility once a drunken suspect is in their custody.

1. They knew he was drunk, which is why they arrested him. So he wasn't in a state to make sound decisions.
2. They knew his mobility was limited by handcuffs.

Why was he left alone where he had the opportunity to stand up and fall or jump overboard? Why wasn't an officer assigned to stay with him?

Sorry, but although the deceased bears responsibility as well, the police in this case were negligent.

I guess I have a problem with the relative negligence, i.e. once you negligently get yourself chitfaced then it's on others to treat you responsibly. If the cop had never happened on the scene, the kid could have killed someone. In which case HE'D be vilified to the high heavens. And the fact that he's the "victim" in this instance is pure happenstance that has nothing to do with his bad actions. I have a problem with that. Hopefully, they're in a state where the drunk kids' negligence will overcome any liability on the part of the "not drunk in a vehicle on the water" police.

 

[popsicle]

[h=1]Coroner's jury may shed light on drowning of handcuffed man at Lake of the Ozarks[/h]http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/...cle_6feff557-6293-55e9-94c0-b25aec37837e.html

[h=1]Attorney: Highway Patrol Report on Drowning of College Student Fails to Address Witness Accounts[/h]
He says the long-awaited Highway Patrol report on the drowning did not mention factors witnesses say contributed to Brandon’s death—the trooper’s alleged improper placement of the life jacket, where Brandon was placed in the boat and the speed of the boat.

The jury is expected to rule later today if the death was an accident, suicide or homicide.

http://stlouis.cbslocal.com/2014/09...ge-student-fails-to-address-witness-accounts/

 

[popsicle]

Coroner's jury rules drowning of handcuffed man at Lake of the Ozarks an accident


Piercy said he was confident in his abilities on the road, but in response to questions from his attorneys said he had limited training for the water patrol division, which merged with the Missouri Highway Patrol in 2010. Piercy, 43, has been with the Highway Patrol since 1996 and was cross-trained for the water patrol in 2012.

He said he had a week or so of basic boating training and later a four-week marine operations class that covered many of the same concepts. But he said that didn't cover how to make an arrest or rescue operations.

http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/...cle_41929313-e4c1-513d-961e-061fe9610291.html

Very tragic for both sides imo.

 

[bluesneakers]

Missouri trooper charged in death of Brandon Ellingson, who drowned in handcuffs


- Highway Patrol Trooper Anthony Piercy was charged Friday with involuntary manslaughter
- Criminal charge follows 18 months of investigations, including two special prosecutors
- Ellingson, 20, was wearing an unsecured life vest when he fell out of Piercy’s boat

A Missouri Highway Patrol trooper was charged Friday in the 2014 death of Brandon Ellingson, who drowned in the Lake of the Ozarks with his hands cuffed behind his back.

Special prosecutor William Camm Seay announced the charge of involuntary manslaughter in the first degree against Trooper Anthony Piercy outside the Morgan County Justice Center. The charge is a Class C felony carrying a punishment of up to seven years in prison, up to a year in the county jail, a $5,000 fine or a combination.

“I have reviewed boxes and boxes of reports and records in regard to Mr. Piercy’s training and experience and everything that was done in the investigation,” he said. “I have charged him (Piercy) with recklessly causing the death. ... It relates to an unjustifiable risk being taken.”

[Sgt. Randy] Henry also has contended that patrol officials tried to paper over serious problems revealed by Ellingson’s death, in part to shield Gov. Jay Nixon from criticism for pushing the 2011 merger of the state Water Patrol into the Highway Patrol.

“There’s been a cover-up from the beginning,” Henry recently told The Star. “They wanted to protect the governor and the merger and protect Piercy from criminal charges because criminal charges would be a black eye for the patrol.”

Video and more at link.

 

[bluesneakers]

From January 2015 before the charges against Piercy.

Death of Brandon Ellingson, who drowned in handcuffs, gets another look

Special prosecutor Amanda Grellner acknowledged that she is reviewing the case after receiving new information. Four months ago, she declined to press charges against Missouri Highway Patrol trooper Anthony Piercy after a coroner’s inquest found Brandon Ellingson’s death in the Lake of the Ozarks to be an accident.
...
Grellner’s review of the case comes after The Star spent months investigating Ellingson’s death and the merger of the Missouri Water Patrol into the Highway Patrol that ultimately led to Piercy working on the water. The paper uncovered several mistakes Piercy made the day Ellingson drowned, as well as discrepancies in Piercy’s account of events. The Star also found missteps in the way the merger was handled, including the lack of training road troopers such as Piercy had before they were cleared to patrol in a boat.
...
Later in the evening of May 31, Piercy called Henry and told him that once he jumped in the water to try to save Ellingson, he waited for his flotation device to auto-inflate.

Henry told him that the type of device he was wearing doesn’t auto-inflate, to which Piercy reportedly said, “Oh, I thought they did.”

Henry said he then told Piercy: “You have to pull the ripcord.”

https://localtvwhotv.files.wordpress.com/2014/06/brandon-ellingson1.jpg?w=370&h=204&crop=1

 

[bluesneakers]

After I saw and posted the first story I went back looking for more information. That's why these aren't in chronological order. My apologies.

Sept. 3, 2015:

Grassley asks Missouri prosecutor for information on Ellingson drowning case

Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley is asking for an update on the death of an Iowan from the special prosecutor in Missouri.
...
In his letter to the Missouri prosecutor, Grassley mentions the questions of whether the Missouri State Trooper handled the situation properly and he says there have been no new reports of developments in the case since Seay was appointed in March to replace the previous special prosecutor.

 

[Tulessa]

After I saw and posted the first story I went back looking for more information. That's why these aren't in chronological order. My apologies.

Sept. 3, 2015:

Grassley asks Missouri prosecutor for information on Ellingson drowning case

I just appreciate you updating. Thanks Blue.

 

[bluesneakers]

Hearing set for trooper charged in drowning

The Missouri Highway Patrol officer who was suspended after being charged in connection with the drowning death of a 20-year-old Iowa college student while in his custody on Lake of the Ozarks is scheduled to appear in Morgan County Circuit Court next month for arraignment before Judge Stan Moore.

On Tuesday Piercy waived his arraignment in associate court. His next appearance is scheduled for Feb. 11 for arraignment in circuit court.

Piercy was suspended by the Patrol on Dec. 17 and turned himself in at the Morgan County Justice Center on Dec. 18. Bail was set at $50,000. The charge carries a possible sentence of up to seven years in the Department of Corrections, up to a year in the County Jail, or up to a $5,000 fine.

 

[bluesneakers]

Thank you Senator Grassley...

Brandon Ellingson drowning lawsuit against trooper and Missouri Highway Patrol can go forward

U.S. District Judge Nanette K. Laughrey also ruled that a jury can consider allegations that Trooper Anthony Piercy violated Brandon Ellingson’s civil rights. She also allowed claims that Piercy, who arrested the college student on May 31, 2014, for allegedly boating while intoxicated, acted negligently in Ellingson’s death, as well as an allegation that Piercy was part of a conspiracy.

Based on the allegations in the lawsuit, “a jury could find Piercy made a series of decisions during Brandon’s seizure that, taken together, fell far outside the scope of reasonable officer conduct,” Laughrey wrote in her ruling this week. “Brandon, meanwhile, suffered a fatal injury as a result of Piercy’s erratic driving while he was restrained.”

Trial is scheduled for October in federal court in Jefferson City.

More at the link.

 

[bluesneakers]

Ex-sergeant sues Missouri Highway Patrol in drowning case

A retired sergeant who spoke out after a handcuffed Iowa man drowned is suing three Missouri Highway Patrol officials, saying they conspired against him and forced him to retire early.

Randy Henry filed the lawsuit last week, The Kansas City Star reported.

The lawsuit said Henry informed investigators what Piercy had told him about the incident, but the version differed from the account Piercy gave to investigators.

The lawsuit said Henry was told not to prepare a report.

Henry said in the lawsuit he believes the patrol was attempting to cover up the circumstances of the drowning.

"They forced me to retire by moving me," Henry said. "I basically lost all supervisory roles I had. I was treated like a first-year recruit. I feel like I was retaliated against for doing the right thing."

 

[bluesneakers]

Ellingson family wins Sunshine lawsuit against Highway Patrol

A judge ruled the Missouri State Highway Patrol violated Missouri Sunshine laws by withholding findings from a death investigation Wednesday.

This comes after Brandon Ellingson died in May 2014 while in Highway Patrol's custody at the Lake of the Ozarks.

Ellingson's family filed a lawsuit in December 2014 after they said months of requests about the investigation went unmet, and untimely answered.

Throughout the summer of 2014, attorneys for the Ellingson family made more than two dozen open records requests for information like training for members of the Water Patrol, and specific records regarding the trooper who had Brandon in custody, Anthony Piercy.

Judge Jon Beetem noted the numerous delayed responses and violations of Missouri's Sunshine Law by McCollum, such as failure to notify the attorneys within three days of the request of any delay for "reasonable cause." McCollum, who claimed at trial to have given presentations on handling open records across the state, often gave the requested material weeks after the request, one in particular coming 215 days after its request.

Beetem said that many of these, such as Piercy's swim tests, water training and chat logs between troopers the day of Brandon Ellingson's death, "could all be considered highly damaging to the MSHP, and the wrongful nondisclosure of these documents is troubling to the Court."

And

Patrol fined over records in drowning case

A Missouri judge has fined the state Highway Patrol $5,000 after finding it violated open records law in responding to requests from the family of a 20-year-old Iowa man who drowned while in custody.

Cole County Circuit Judge Jon Beetem issued the order Wednesday. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported Beetem ruled the state’s delays in turning over documents to Brandon Ellingson’s family amounted to a “purposeful violation” of law. The fine is the maximum allowed.

Beetem also ordered the state to pay the costs of the attorneys who requested the records, which included the arresting trooper’s work schedule and training as well as Highway Patrol policies on life jackets and handcuffs.

 

[Blondie in Spokane]

Family to receive $9M settlement

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/nat...rowned-handcuffed-9-million-article-1.2877451