Crossword Genius

Having informed the police, brought down to earth (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

grassed

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'having informed the police brought' is the definition.
I can't tell whether this definition defines the answer.

'down to earth' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite see how this works, but
'down' could be 'd' and 'd' is located in the answer.
'earth' could be 'e' and 'e' is found within the answer.
The remaining letters 'grass' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't understand.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for grassed that I've seen before include "green?" , "catch thus dropped" , "Turfed - informed" , "Gave away information" , "Snitched, shopped" .)

I've seen this clue in the Evening Standard.
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