JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — The state of Missouri has revoked the peace officer license of a former highway patrol trooper who was driving a patrol boat when a handcuffed Iowa man fell out and drowned.
The Kansas City Star reports Anthony Piercy’s license was permanently revoked after the Missouri Department of Public Safety reviewed evidence in the death of 20-year-old Brandon Ellingson, of Clive.
Piercy’s lawyer, Tim Van Ronzelen, said Tuesday he will appeal the license revocation.
Piercy was taking 20-year-old Brandon Ellingson for a breath test when the Arizona State University student tumbled into the Lake of the Ozarks wearing an improperly secured life vest and drowned. Ellingson was from the Des Moines suburb of Clive.
Register file photo
Piercy pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor boat violation and was sentenced in September to 50 hours of community service and 10 days in jail.
Last month, a judge had found that the head of the Missouri State Highway Patrol went too far in firing a Piercy after he was convicted. Cole County Judge Patricia Joyce sent the case back to the patrol for consideration of a new, lesser punishment.
“It’s a good day for Brandon and it’s a good day for Missouri,” Ellingson’s father, Craig Ellingson, told the Star. “I think people may take a deep breath today and say, ‘Hey they did something right. They did the right thing.’”