Missouri settles in drowning case

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The state of Missouri will pay $9 million to the family of an Iowa man who drowned after he fell out of a boat handcuffed and in an improperly secured life vest while he was in the custody of a state trooper, a lawyer for the family announced Thursday.

The settlement ends a lawsuit filed by the family of Arizona State University student Brandon Ellingson after he died in May 2014 at Lake of the Ozarks, the Kansas City Star reported.

Ellingson, from Clive, Iowa, was arrested on suspicion of boating while intoxicated and was being transported by trooper Anthony Piercy, who jumped into the lake but could not save Ellingson.

The family alleged the trooper, the state and the Missouri State Highway Patrol were liable in Brandon's death.

As the case went through the courts, several counts and claims against multiple defendants were dismissed, leaving only three counts against Piercy, who is charged with involuntary manslaughter.

The criminal case is set for a hearing Monday in Morgan County, Missouri. Piercy is on unpaid leave.

"The money isn't going to bring Brandon back, but at least that amount shows they are at fault," his father, Craig Ellingson, said. "If they weren't at fault, they would have kept fighting us."

Des Moines attorney Matt Boles said the settlement indicated "there was clearly an undeniable liability on behalf of Tony Piercy and his actions."

He added the family still has not received a sincere apology from the state or highway patrol, other than from retired Sgt. Randy Henry, a whistleblower who spoke out after Ellingson's death.

"The silence is deafening," Boles said. "No apology; no 'Sorry for your loss.'"

Missouri State Highway Patrol Capt. John Holtz said in a statement "any loss of life is a tragedy," but with the settlement, "the patrol will have no additional comment on this matter." The Missouri attorney general's office, which represented the patrol and the troopers, declined to comment Thursday.

An investigation by the Star found the 2011 merger of the Missouri Water Patrol and the highway patrol contributed to the drowning.