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Review of Missouri water patrol merger continues

lake of the ozarks
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OSAGE BEACH, Mo. (AP) — A member of the Missouri State Highway Patrol says trooper training was deficient before the May drowning of a man under arrest in the Lake of the Ozarks.

Patrol Sgt. Randy Henry told a panel of state lawmakers Tuesday that the lack of proper training was obvious. He spoke during a second hearing in a review of the 2011 merger of the highway and water patrols.

The review follows the May drowning of a handcuffed Iowa man who fell from a trooper's boat on the Lake of the Ozarks. The trooper had arrested 20-year-old Brandon Ellingson on suspicion of drunken boating.

Lawmakers now question whether the merger of the Water Patrol and the Highway Patrol overwhelmed troopers. Combining the departments was supposed to save about $3 million a year.

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