Judge reverses Mo. trooper's loss of officer license after man's drowning

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- A judge has reversed the Missouri Department of Public Safety's revocation of the peace officer license of a highway patrolman who was driving a boat when a handcuffed Iowa man fell out and drowned.

Cole County Circuit Court Judge Daniel Green on Monday sent proceedings against trooper Anthony Piercy back to the public safety department for further action.

Piercy was driving 20-year-old Brandon Ellingson, of Clive, Iowa, for a breath test at the Lake of the Ozarks in 2014 when Ellingson fell off the boat and slipped out of an improperly secured life vest.

Green ruled public safety director Drew Juden didn't provide findings of fact and conclusions of law when revoking Piercy's license.

Piercy can't return to the patrol without his peace officer license.