I’ve written several posts about the tragic case of Brandon Ellingson, the 20-year-old Iowa man who drowned in the Lake of the Ozarks because of a Missouri Highway Patrol officer’s negligence, and I have believed from the start that no criminal charges will ever be filed in the case.
The Star’s Laura Bauer, who has exposed Water Patrol Officer Anthony Piercy’s lackadaisical effort to save Brandon, had a one-year anniversary story Saturday about Brandon’s death, and it captured the frustration of the Ellingson family.
“There’s no one holding anyone accountable,” Bauer quoted Sherry Ellingson, Brandon’s mother, as saying.
The person who has avoided accountability is Trooper Anthony Piercy, who had arrested Brandon on suspicion of boating while intoxicated. While taking Brandon to a patrol station and operating the boat recklessly, Piercy managed to eject Ellingson, who was in the water anywhere from three to five minutes before drowning with his hands cuffed behind his back.
…What the highway patrol, a country county coroner and two special prosecutors have put the Ellingsons through during the last year can best be summed up in three words: The Ozarks Shuffle.
Conveniently, Piercy’s onboard camera wasn’t working because it didn’t have a microchip. Absent video and close-up witnesses, overwhelming evidence of Piercy’s negligence is in short supply.
The hazy circumstances enabled the Highway Patrol, the county coroner and two special prosecutors to engage in what amounts to a stonewalling conspiracy.
Then, there’s the fact that Piercy, who is in his early 40s, has a relatively high profile in Morgan County, partly because he has been a member of Morgan County R-II district school board since 2012.
I hate to tell the Ellingson family this — although by now they undoubtedly have a pretty good idea — but Piercy will never face felony charges in connection with this sorry episode.
The whitewash has been well underway for a year, and all that remains is for the second special prosecutor (more about that in a minute) to announce that he found no grounds for criminal charges…I don’t know when that’s coming, but I would bet it won’t be for a few more months, to allow the case to recede a bit further into the general public’s memory.
Here are some of the main farcical elements of this debacle so far…
:: On Sept. 8, a little more than three months after the drowning, Morgan County Coroner M.B. Jones conducted “a coroner’s inquest,” presenting evidence to a jury of six Ozarkians.
:: One of the chief witnesses was Highway Patrol Cpl. Eric Stacks, the lead investigator, who knew how fast Piercy had been traveling that afternoon but didn’t tell the jury…The patrol boat’s GPS showed Piercy was traveling between 39 and 44 miles an hour just before Brandon went overboard.
Cpl. Eric Stacks
M.B. Jones
:: After about eight minutes of deliberation, the jury came back with a ruling that Brandon’s death was the result of an accident.
:: Four days later, a special prosecutor, Amanda Grellner, Osage County prosecutor, said she had come to the same conclusion after investigating the case.
:: Last December, Grellner told me in a phone interview that she had reopened her investigation based on new information. She didn’t elaborate but said a witness whom she had interviewed earlier had come forward with “more thorough” information.
:: Nearly three months passed, and then, in March, Grellner said she was stepping aside because of “a conflict that developed recently.” She asked the Circuit Court judge who appointed her to name a new special prosecutor. The judge named William Seay, a former Crawford County prosecutor, to succeed Grellner.
All three of the counties involved — Morgan, Osage and Crawford — are in the Ozarks, with Morgan being southwest of Jefferson City and Osage and Crawford southeast.
Bauer, of The Star, has dutifully reported Grellner’s coming and going and Seay’s appointment as her successor. Something she has not reported, however, is why Grellner recused herself.
Amanda Grellner
On March 26, the Lake News Online, a newspaper in Camdenton, Missouri, reported that Grellner’s conflict of interest revolved around an earlier Highway Patrol investigation of Grellner’s son. The prosecutor’s son was ultimately cleared of whatever he was being investigated for, but the Highway Patrol’s Water Patrol Division apparently objected to Grellner’s involvement in the Piercy case, given the earlier investigation of her son.
That is certainly a valid objection to raise, in my opinion, and I don’t fault Grellner for recusing herself.
Where I find serious fault with Grellner, however, is for not disclosing the investigation of her son before she accepted the special-prosecution assignment.
Shouldn’t common sense have told her to apprise the judge?
Isn’t the “conflict-of-interest” issue drilled into students during law school and at every step of their careers thereafter? It’s as clearcut as a political officeholder prospectively voting on a project in which he or she has a vested interest.
But, then, like I said, it’s the Ozarks. It’s different down there, and it shouldn’t surprise anyone that after an outsider lost his life at the hands of an insider, a protective circle quickly formed and law enforcement officials fiddled and diddled for months.
The dance that the insiders have been doing for the last year — and will continue doing until the case dribbles away — is The Ozarks Shuffle. I tell you, somebody ought to put it to music.
The Ozark Shuffle should be set to the music of dueling banjos.
Anthony Piercy, the Barney Fife of Morgan County, executing people with his incompetence since 2014.
I like it…Only thing is Barney’s incompetence was harmless and funny. Not so with Anthony.
Thanks for keeping this case in front of us. I was once driving back from Lawrence on the Loring road when I was almost hit head on by a Leavenworth County Sheriff’s Deputy. A minute later he was in my rear view mirror and when he came up he said “If I hadn’t pulled over we would have hit head on.” Pointing out the obvious I said something to the effect “Yes, if you hadn’t pulled over, I was already where I was supposed to be.”
While it was never clear exactly what the charge was it seemed to have something to do with crossing a line, except there were no lines on that road at the time whatsoever. Anyhow, long story short, when we get to court I demanded the video from his squad car and they claimed that the audio on that porion of the tape, and only that portion of the tape, had been irretrievably corrupted. Amazing how that happens.at the most oportune time.
By the way, the judge found me guilty, but didn’t fine me anything.
Let me fix the title for you Jim…
Ozarkians learn and use “The Capital Hill Shuffle” : A well know dance perfected by Hillary Rodham Clinton.
First of all,I would agree that Trooper Piercy is, at the very least, guilty of negligence. Possibly even manslaughter.
After that, we seem to part ways.
It is pretty obvious, that any person born outside of city limits is some kind of evil, uneducated, louse ridden, bumpkin that you can poke fun at when it suits you.
Truth of the matter is, you seem to be alright with these types of things, as long as it’s your liberal posse doing it. To the point, you did write about Hillary and her questionable use of a personal server to conduct official government business. Of course you didn’t like what she was doing, but only because you thought it would hurt the Dems in the presidential race. Not because she used it to whitewash the Bengazi incident, where four Americans lost their lives as Washington stood by and did nothing. Four men who were doing their job for their country that gave the ultimate sacrifice. Not some under-age drunk kid operating a boat, putting others at risk.
Yeah, that’s right, I said it. What would you write, had Mr. Ellington capsized the boat he was operating and killed all of his friends? What would you have written, had he hit a boat with a family enjoying their day? Probably nothing. But this is interesting because he died in the hands of a law enforcement officer, and that is big news these days.
The Ellington’s’ need to get on with their life and realize that their son made some bad decisions that shortened his life. If they want to do something useful, maybe they could become advocates for boating safety, or against underage drinking. Those are the biggest contributing factors to Brandon’s death.
But no, were going to flog this dead horse for a while longer now, aren’t we. Maybe if the wheel stays squeaky for long enough, we can get a Brandon’s Law passed.
I know all of this sounds callous to you, but the fact is, Brandon broke laws that were put in place to help ensure his own safety and that of others. Piercy was certainly lackadaisical about properly restraining his prisoner and operating the boat. When these types of things come together, accidents happen…and that is what happened here. A complete accident. I do not believe for one minute that Piercy killed Brandon Ellington intentionally. I do believe that the blame is shared by the two. If Brandon had not broken the law, he would not be in the back of the boat, period.
I went easy on your last post, but you stirred the pot here with this…
“But, then, like I said, it’s the Ozarks. It’s different down there, and it shouldn’t surprise anyone that after an outsider lost his life at the hands of an insider, a protective circle quickly formed and law enforcement officials fiddled and diddled for months.”
Really?! You vote for these kinds of people! Hell, we all do anymore it seems. Jeez man, get off your high horse, that’s for Churchill Downs!
Lastly…@ noncentsicle, your comment reflects your farcical screen name.
End rant.
Jason Schneider, and I quote “The Ellington’s’ need to get on with their life and realize that their son made some bad decisions that shortened his life.'” Unquote. You, sir, are an idiot and a complete disgrace. Enough said!
This post didn’t get many comments, but I think the few we got sum up both sides of the equation. Case closed…for now.