Nearly four months ago, I wrote that the family of 20-year-old Brandon Ellingson, the 20-year-old Iowa man who drowned at the Lake of the Ozarks on May 31, 2014, was being subjected to what I dubbed “The Ozarks Shuffle.”
The gist of the shuffle is that various Ozarks law enforcement officials have been dishing the case off to one another like they’re dealing cards.
This is no game, though, because an officer in the Highway Patrol’s Water Division put Ellingson in harm’s way and then failed to rescue him. Officer Anthony Piercy probably didn’t mean to kill Ellingson, but there are strong indications that Piercy could be charged with involuntary manslaughter.
Highway Patrol Officer Anthony Piercy
First, he put a life jacket on Ellingson improperly after arresting him for boating while intoxicated. Then, he bounced the young man out of his patrol boat while driving it at 40 miles an hour in very choppy water. And, finally, when Ellingson was in the water — hands cuffed behind his back and the life jacket having floated away — witnesses said Piercy took his sweet time trying to rescue Ellingson and didn’t go in after him until it was too late.
The latest hand-off in the shuffle occurred last March, when the first special prosecutor in the case, Amanda Grellner, recused herself and a second special prosecutor was appointed by an associate Circuit Court judge. Before that, a coroner’s jury — after being presented minimal and non-incriminating evidence — took eight minutes to decide Ellingson’s death was the result of an accident.
Grellner dithered for nine months before stepping aside because the Highway Patrol had at some point investigated her son for one thing or another. When the Highway Patrol cried conflict of interest, Grellner let the case go.
Her successor, William C. Seay, a former prosecutor and retired judge, has had the case the last six months.
The Star’s Laura Bauer, who has covered the case from the outset, hasn’t been able to get Seay to comment, but yesterday I reached him on the phone.
— A little Journalism 101 here: I learned a long time ago that sometimes when you call a person’s office, even if it’s a law office or a major corporation, you get lucky and the person you’re seeking picks up the phone. And if you’re luckier still and you play your cards right, the person will open up and give you more than a “No comment.”
Yesterday morning, Seay (pronounced See) picked up the phone at his Steelville, MO, law office. Our initial exchange, after identifying myself, went like this:
Q: “Mr. Seay, I’m just wondering if you have come to a decision on the Ellingson case, and if you haven’t, when do you think you might? In any event, can you give me a progress report?”
A: “I have not. I have no date. And I don’t give progress reports.”
The next thing I expected to hear after that blunt statement was a curt, “I have nothing more to say,” followed by the silence of a dead line.
Instead, there was only a pause. So I kept asking questions.
As sometimes happens with people you catch off guard, he warmed up as we went along.
He said had appointed an investigator to assist him. He would not identify the investigator but said, “It’s someone who has not been associated with the Highway Patrol — ever.”
William Seay, when a judge
When I said six months seemed like a long time to pass without a decision, he became defensive and said in a raised voice, “I’ve been in the hospital three times for (a total) of five weeks, and I’m under home health care now.”
My response to that was, “Well, I didn’t know that now, did I?”
“No,” he acknowledged.
Defending the passage of six months, he noted that “someone else had the case for nine months” without anything happening. And backing over what he had said at the outset, he did give me a progress report, of sorts, saying that he had made progress.
And his health? “I’m improving.”
One of the last questions I asked was, “How old are you?”
— A little more Journalism 101: Some casual observers of journalistic practices consider it impertinent for a reporter to ask a person’s age, especially when it’s not particularly relevant. But my first editor, back in northern Kentucky, told me that most people, even women, will usually answer the question. I soon learned he was right.
“Fifty-eight,” Seay said.
…I came away from that conversation thinking that Seay is well intentioned and that he might not sweep the case under the rug. On the other hand, I’m not convinced he won’t sweep it under the rug.
In addition, it’s worrisome to me that he’s relying heavily on the investigator. My impression is that, with his health problems, Seay doesn’t have the energy to give the case the time and attention it cries out for.
Brandon Ellingson
Ultimately, I fear The Ozarks Shuffle will end like it’s supposed to end — with Seay one day going to the office of the judge who appointed him and filing a report saying he has concluded that Brandon Ellingson’s death was an accident.
…By the way, if not for Anthony Piercy’s extreme recklessness, Brandon — assuming he was on track academically — would now be in the first semester of his senior year at Arizona State University.
Sadly, Brandon Ellingson drew a bad hand. And he didn’t get a helping hand when he needed it most.
JimmyCsays: At the juncture of journalism and daily life in KC 
Good job, Fitz.
Way to probe (BTW, what IS the purpose of asking age? I’m often curious about that myself but just wonder the reason in this context). Unfortunately, I also think it will not end as it probably should. How sad for the family that they won’t have at least a just conclusion to comfort them.
I can’t give you an absolutely clearcut answer, Gayle. But I know that when people meet others for the first time, the three things about which they are usually most curious are where they live, if they work (and where) and how old they are. We never hesitate to ask people the first two questions, and we often find ourselves guessing at the last…”How old do you think he is? About 50, maybe?”
So, reporters, with their licenses to be nosey, can and should satisfy that curiosity for the readers, although countless times I have read stories about people and wondered how old they are and not been given the answer.
In the case of Seay, his age didn’t become a significant issue until he started talking about his health problems. At that point, I think, the readers would be asking themselves how old is this guy? 60? 70? No, he’s in his 50s, unusually young, most would tend to think, to be saddled with significant health problems. Also, even without the health problems, I’d be curious how old he was as a general indicator of vigor. Not that everyone in his or her late 50s isn’t vigorous because many are. But personally, I’d like to see a younger special prosecutor in a case like this — one with experience but young enough to throw himself or herself into it and be driven to get to the bottom of it…But that’s part of the Ozarks Shuffle, isn’t it? They’re not going to put a tiger/tigress on the case because the shuffle — that homegrown dance they’ve been doing on this case — could unexpectedly become a tap-dance fiasco.
I got an email today from a man named Robert Ihry who wanted to make a comment, but I guess he didn’t know how to do it on this site.
Here’s what he said:
I am a friend of the Ellingson family, and I have been following this case from the beginning. This is absolutely the best, most objective, and most succinct analysis I have yet seen of the case. Thank you for writing the story and please continue to follow the case because everybody, not just the Ellingson family, benefits from objective reporters spreading the disinfectant of sunshine on “The Ozarks Shuffle” and the Missouri Highway Patrol’s penchant for hiding its missteps.
Ellingson should not have been on the lake. Piercy should not have been employed in the water patrol division of the MoHP.
There are plenty of things mentioned here about Piercy, but just one look at the picture (any picture) of Piercy and it is clear that he is only physically fit for driving a desk.
But let’s not forget that Ellingson was operating a unregistered (at least in Mo.) boat, had a BAC of 0.268 percent, more than three times the legal limit (if he was not a minor). He also tested positive for cocaine. He was not only dangerous to himself, but to others on the lake.
I would like to see the State of Missouri put qualified personnel back in the Water Patrol boats, with mandatory lifeguard training and annual skills testing. The MoHP just isn’t up to the task.
This Ozark Shuffle thing is really just a cute catch phrase, and I know your quite proud of your new term. But, I guarantee, you put this case in front of any impartial jury, and your going to have problems getting any criminal charges to stick. Largely due to the important facts about the toxicology report that you have left out of every one of your reports on this subject.
Mr. Ellingson is just another lake victim, who was done in by his own carelessness, and the lack of training and qualified personnel working the Water Patrol.
Going after Piercy will do nothing but satisfy a few people who want to see “fat boy Piercy’s” head on a stake. The real problem that nobody seems to care about is that we have unqualified personnel policing our waterways. That’s what needs to change to make sure it doesn’t happen again.
Not sure about that boat being unregistered, Jason. The Star reported Sept. 14, 2014 that Piercy saw “no visible registration numbers.” That doesn’t mean it wasn’t properly registered…Do you know differently?
Jason, you really need to be more informed on the real story. There have been many stories that came out, at the beginning, from the Water Patrol, that have since been found to not be true, including their botched toxicology report. One issue that has been in the forefront is the concern of proper training of the Water Patrol. Your statement about Brandon being a victim of his own carelessness is about as callous and shallow as you can get. Brandon was willing to take responsibility for his actions within the law, but to pay the price with his life because of “fat boy Piercy” is horrific as you can get.
Thank you, Mary Lou, and welcome to the Comments Dept.
I’m all ears on the botched toxicology report. Haven’t heard that one yet. Also wanted to hear the real story if you happen to know. Were you a witness?
The article that I read in The Des Moines Register also said that he was in possession of an Illinois Drivers License that wasn’t his and a passport, but they didn’t specify if the passport was his or not. There was also a witness statement in the article that said the water wasn’t all that rough either.
You may think I’m “callous and shallow”, and that’s fine, we express our opinions here. But I will say this, I’m completely neutral in this situation, and don’t carry the weight of Mr. Ellingson’s death on my shoulders, nor do I think about it until Jim puts it up on his blog. I’m just simply stating a few observations based on other things I read about.
If you disagree with me that Mr. Ellingson made some careless decisions that day…well that’s your prerogative, but the last time I checked, most people agreed that boating and alcohol was a dangerous mix, and that underage drinking was discouraged.
This witch hunt for Piercy is what gets me. To me, he’s nothing more than the failure of the MoHP to properly staff the Water Patrol. They are the people responsible for putting a guy in a boat that doesn’t know how to operate the boat, and clearly has no water rescue abilities. I doubt Peircy could swim and stay afloat holding a three year old, much less a college aged hockey player.
I’ll wait for the real story as I continue to watch my slumpin’ Royals!
Brandon Ellingson was never given the opportunity to test his BAC because he died at the hands of Anthony Piercy. The toxicology samples were drawn over 18 hours after death while Brandon was allowed to lay at the bottom of the lake. Time and water affect the lab results and are not accurate. Did you know there were 2 sets of lab results? The other labs which happened to show a lower BAC and NO cocaine disappeared much like the memory cards on Piercy’s boat. Once arrested, Brandon’s safety was the responsibility of the arresting officer, no matter what the BAC. The lies and witness statements reveal that this was not an “accident.”
The numbers are required to be properly displayed. Even if registration was paid for, the boat isn’t legal until the numbers are on the boat. For example, you may have registered your vehicle and received license plates, but you car is not legal until you have properly displayed them on your vehicle. Same rule applies with boats. I could send you a link if you want.
Jason Schneider: 12/10/14 Lily Dane “Police Stupidity Leads to Handcuffed Mans Drowning Death”. “Brandon was on board a boat that was a USCG document vessel. These boats with names displayed on the back along with ports of call are NOT required to have registration numbers. Instead they have color coded stickers on the front of each side of the boat. They function much like license plate stickers on a vehicle. This calls in to question the legality of the stop in the first place.” Know your facts before you blame the victim!
From what I can find online, Lily Dane writes articles for a website called The Daily Sheeple, which describes itself as “an alternative media venue for breaking news, opinion, commentary and information.”
Jim,
Have you called the MoHP and asked of Piercy’s employment status. If he’s not still on leave, I bet he’s drivin’ a desk now. You might even be able to get hold of a PR officer and find out what changes, if any, are being made within the department that will help ensure that something like this doesn’t happen again. I’m curious to know if this has caused any changes in the Water Patrol division or are they just sitting on the fence?
I don’t know what Piercy’s status is, Jason, but I would bet almost anything he’s no longer on the water. It came out that he had had just two days of field training before being put on water duty. Previously he worked the highways. The water and highway divisions merged a few years ago — a merger that was completely botched.
A special committee of the Missouri House of Representatives conducted hearings in the aftermath of Brandon’s drowning, and the committee recommended a number of changes in Highway Patrol operations.
On May 29 of this year, The Star’s Laura Bauer wrote this:
“Those proposed changes included an overhaul in trooper training for the water and recruiting specialized officers to patrol by boat. The committee also called for an update from the patrol in six months and a thorough inspection of changes in two years.”
Bauer quoted the committee chairperson, Rep. Diane Franklin of Camdenton, as saying, “They (the Highway Patrol) have wholeheartedly embraced the recommendations, and they are implementing them.”
Naturally, the Highway Patrol, quaking in its boots because of a pending civil suit filed by the Ellingson family, as well as the outside possibility of criminal charges, refused to discuss specific changes in operations or improvements in training.
All the patrol would say was that Water Division troopers had started working 12-hour shifts this summer to provide more coverage at the Lake of the Ozarks.
…Piercy’s actions may well have reflected more incompetence than malice, but it seems to me it would have been easy enough for Piercy to throw on a life jacket, jump in the water and hold up Brandon until help — which was already close by — arrived. But he dithered and dallied for several minutes and, literally watched Brandon drown. The wasted time, that’s where he’s most vulnerable to the involuntary manslaughter charge, in my opinion. That, and driving the boat at 43 miles an hour in very choppy water. Stupid and criminal — that’s Anthony Piercy. Brandon? Dumb for getting behind the wheel after drinking with his buddies all afternoon. But as has been made abundantly clear recently (see Freddy Gray), law enforcement has a duty after arresting someone to secure them properly and safely transport them to jail or wherever they’re taking them.
And with that, I’m shutting down the comments. The whole thing makes my blood boil…Thanks for the comments, everyone.