A special prosecutor in Missouri announced today that no criminal charges will be filed against a state trooper in connection with the drowning death of a central Iowa man this summer. Twenty-one-year-old Brandon Ellingson of Clive was arrested in May at the Lake of the Ozarks on a charge of boating while intoxicated.
Ellingson was placed in a Missouri State trooper’s boat, handcuffed, and then had a life jacket put on him, though it wasn’t properly fastened. The boat hit a wave and Ellingson fell out. The life jacket popped off and he drowned. Last week, a jury agreed Ellingson’s death was an accident.
An attorney representing Ellingson’s family has said he plans to file a wrongful death suit.