Missouri trooper charged with drowning death of handcuffed suspect gets 10 days in jail for lesser offense

A Missouri state trooper who pleaded guilty in connection with the drowning death of a handcuffed man has been sentenced to just 10 days in prison.

Anthony Piercy of the Missouri Highway Patrol will also serve two years of probation and must complete 50 hours of community service, the Kansas City Star reported.

Judge Roger Prokes ordered Piercy serve the “shock time” at a Morgan County, Mo. jail in five two-day terms — much to the chagrin of prosecutors and the victim’s relatives.

Piercy pleaded guilty to a minor boating violation in connection with the May 2014 death of Brandon Ellingson. He avoided charges of involuntary manslaughter by copping to the lesser offense.

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The trooper arrested Ellingson, an Iowa resident, on Lake of the Ozarks for suspicion of boating while intoxicated. Piercy handcuffed the 20-year-old suspect and put improperly put him in a live vest, prosecutors charged. The vest came off when a wave knocked Ellingson into the water, leading him to drown.

Investigations showed Piercy was an 18-year highway veteran who had recently began doing boat patrols after his department merged with water safety officials.

Ellingson’s father, Craig, was irate at the judge’s 10-day sentence, which is set to begin Friday.

“Ten days is like a vacation,” he told the Kansas City Star on Tuesday. “It’s a joke. … He knows he’s guilty and he’s damn lucky to get what he got.”

Tuesday was reportedly the first time the still-grieving father was able to address Piercy, and he broke down on the stand.

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“Anthony Piercy, it has been almost 3 1/2 years that I’ve waited to tell you face to face that you’re the reason why my son Brandon is dead,” an emotional Craig Ellingson said in his three-page statement, according to the Kansas City Star. “You had no compassion for my son.”

Neither his wife, Sherry, nor his daughter Jennifer were in court Tuesday.

“They didn’t want to see the guy who killed their brother and son,” he continued.

The sentencing ended more than three years of legal battles for Ellingson’s family.

Last November they won a $9 million wrongful death lawsuit against the state after a three-year legal battle.

Craig Ellingson made frequent trips from his home in suburban Des Moines, according to the Kansas City Star. He gave 35 depositions in Missouri, appeared before the state’s legislature to discuss water safety and attended the 2014 coroner’s report that deemed his son’s death an accident.

Piercy, when given the opportunity to speak, addressed Ellingson’s family.

“I apologize for the loss that I have caused the Ellingson family,” the trooper said from the defense table. “I know that nothing that I will say will ease the pain that they are feeling.”

“And I will never forget that I am the cause of that pain. I am truly sorry for that. Brandon should be here with them today. Thank you.”

Prosecutors were upset by the sentencing because they sought a 30-day jail stint along with getting his law enforcement certificate taken away for life.

“It’s my hope he (Piercy) never ever serves as a law enforcement officer again,” Special Prosecutor William Camm Seay told the Kansas City Star after the sentencing. “I’ve fulfilled my obligation but I feel like I have an obligation to the Ellingson family to see this out.”

Highway patrol spokesman Lt. Paul Reinsch told the newspaper Piercy is still a member of the force but is on unpaid leave for an extended period.

Piercy’s future with the department “is a personnel issue,” he added.