Last Friday morning, top-ranked golfer Scottie Scheffler arrived at the Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Ky., for the second round of the PGA Championship. Traffic was stopped due to an accident that had taken place earlier that morning, and Scheffler tried to drive around it.
The original reports were that an officer tried to stop Scheffler’s car, and the golfer dragged the officer, causing injury. Police arrested Scheffler and hit him with four charges, including a felony. Det. Bryan Gillis, who said he tried to stop Scheffler and later arrested him, did not turn his body camera on during the incident, but he later wrote a report giving his account of what happened.
The Athletic reports:
“While directing traffic in front of Gate 1 the PGA personnel stopped a bus from entering Gate 1,” Gillis wrote in a section of a form asking him to document what would have been captured on the body camera footage. “I observed a vehicle traveling in the opposing lanes coming at me. I stopped the driver and advised him he could not proceed because of the bus.
“He demanded to be let in, and proceeded forward against my directions. I was dragged/knocked down by the driver. I then proceeded to arrest the driver.”
A release of video from the scene of the incident doesn’t quite match Gillis’ account. The videos aren’t all that clear, but they definitely don’t show Scheffler dragging Gillis or knocking him down.
Related: Brave Cops Target That Criminal Mastermind Scottie Scheffler
One video is from a pole camera above the scene:
Here’s the pole camera footage from Scottie Scheffler’s arrest outside of the PGA Championship.
— Gabby Herzig (@GabbyHerzig) May 23, 2024
LMPD has said it will not release any additional video evidence until the conclusion of the legal process. pic.twitter.com/zAc5e2WVq7
The other footage is from police dashcams:
🚗🐢👮♂️ #DASH CAM VIEW — Video shows Scottie Scheffler’s courtesy car slowly driving at walking speeds, followed by an officer chasing after it and Scottie’s eventual arrest. 😔@flushingitgolf | @SchefflerFans
— NUCLR GOLF (@NUCLRGOLF) May 23, 2024
pic.twitter.com/i8jYIow2Y0
Louisville Metro Police Chief Jacquelyn Gwinn-Villaroel said at a press conference that Gillis was in violation of department policy for not activating his camera and that Gillis “received ‘corrective action’ for the violation of its rules on uniforms and equipment, which was noted on a performance observation form in line with the department’s disciplinary protocol.”
At the same press conference, Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg would not say whether the city was dropping the charges against Scheffler. He added that the city would not release any more footage until the legal process was complete.
Scheffler called the arrest “a chaotic situation and a big misunderstanding.” He also said that he didn’t play the don’t-you-know-who-I-am card.
“When they got me out of the car — like I said, it was very chaotic, and I said, ‘I’m sorry, I’m just trying to get to my tee time,’” Scheffler told the media last week. “Outside of that, things escalated from there… I didn’t know what happened at the time, other than there was an accident. I didn’t know that it was fatal.”
Sportswriter Matt Jones made a valid point about the whole ordeal:
Being a cop is a tough job and I think vast majority try to do things the right way
— Matt Jones (@KySportsRadio) May 23, 2024
But the Scheffler incident does show that we cant just always assume that whatever is in a police report is always correct
Not every person has good fortune of ESPN reporter in car behind them
An arraignment is scheduled for June 3, and Scheffler’s attorney promises that his client will see satisfactory justice.
“Scottie Scheffler didn’t do anything wrong,” attorney Steven Romines said. “We’re not interested in settling the case. We will either try it or it will be dismissed. It’s very simple. All the evidence that continues to come out just continues to support what Scottie said all along. This was a chaotic situation and miscommunication, and he didn’t do anything wrong.”
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