The tragic drowning of Brandon Ellingson pierced the hearts of communities throughout the Midwest. Family and friends were left with a sudden void amid unanswered questions and then with the anger that emerged once some of those questions were answered. The Lake of the Ozarks community grieved for a senseless loss that could have—and should have—been avoided. And boaters were given a case-in-point for concerns many of them had been voicing for years.
In instances like these, the facts are all-important; investigators scour the scene for them, poring over witness testimonies, and seeking real answers. Not every fact of every case needs to be made public, but in cases that bear real implications and generate real concerns for citizens, facts can be a source of grappling with—and trying to apprehend—the truth.
The public expects journalists to aid in that task: to dig for the story—and for the story behind the story—and to present it in a way that attempts to make sense and order of a convoluted situation. Such has been our task, not only in the Ellingson tragedy, but in every story we tell at LakeExpo.com. Some have contended that in the recent article entitled “Trooper fought to save handcuffed drowning victim,” we failed at that task. They’re entitled to that opinion, but we offer the following as clarification…
The article looked at elements of the incident that we had not seen published elsewhere, and which—regardless of their cohesion with any particular narrative—told the story as it can be constructed from the testimony of Trooper Piercy and the myriad witnesses who saw Ellingson drown. Those who would construe the article as a “defense” of Piercy have perhaps failed to read our prior coverage of the incident (or have forgotten it), or they assume that we think an article depicting actions some would deem as laudable necessarily wipes clean any blamable actions by that same individual. Either way, they also misunderstand our take on the situation.
The article was not meant to extend further grief to anyone who knew Ellingson. His friends and family have our deepest condolences, and in the task of researching this incident, we have felt the heaviness of such a loss—though we acknowledge no one on the outside of a tragedy can know the full potential for grief it holds for those on the inside. Rather, the depiction of such a horrific event should always (and was meant to) catalyze our whole-hearted efforts to see justice performed and to prevent such a tragedy from ever occurring again.
The goal of the article was to tell more of the story. Nothing more. Implications that we have any interest other than the truth are fully unfounded and, we believe, are not justified by the content of the article. Rather, we assembled witness testimonies and attempted to construct, amid the imperfections of language, a depiction of the moments when a trooper tried to save a drowning man. The article acknowledged at the outset that Piercy is under scrutiny for the way he arrested Ellingson; but that was not the focus of this particular piece.
It seems that most people who know the basic facts about the Ellingson drowning are at a consensus: Ellingson died due to either poor training or negligent haste on the part of the arresting officer. Such was the implication in the testimony of Trooper Piercy as well as Sgt. Randy Henry, who expressed to investigators his dismay at several of Piercy’s decisions during the arrest, including his choice of lifejackets for a handcuffed man, and the speed at which he was traveling before Ellingson went overboard.
Henry’s comments were the impetus for an article we ran at LakeExpo.com on Sept. 12, 2014, entitled “Trooper: ‘I was hurrying’ when arresting Iowa man who drowned.”
Our most recent article depicting Piercy’s rescue attempt was one in the midst of a series that we hope will look at that tragic day thoroughly and critically. It may not fit the desired narrative of some, but it is the narrative depicted by dozens of witnesses. Even the discrepancies were acknowledged.
This story is nowhere near an end: as the Missouri House forms a committee to investigate the merger of the Water Patrol and Highway Patrol, the details of Ellingson’s drowning will surely remain at the forefront, just as they have undoubtedly been the impetus.
The first public hearing for that committee is next week, and you can be sure we’ll be there.
