On May 17, Scottie Scheffler, the top-ranked golfer on the PGA Tour, was arrested as he attempted to drive around the scene of an accident and into the Valhalla Golf Club in Kentucky, which was hosting the PGA Championship. Scheffler was initially facing several serious charges, including second-degree assault of a police officer, after a cop on the scene alleged that the golfer hit him with his car and dragged him before stopping.
But on Wednesday, Jefferson County Attorney Mike O’Connell announced that Scheffler will not face any charges in the incident that Scheffler called a “huge misunderstanding.” O’Connell stated in court that prosecutors would not move forward with the case. Both sides have reportedly agreed not to pursue any additional legal action.
A week after the arrest, video released by the Louisville Metro Police Department on Thursday casts doubt on the department’s claim that he hit and dragged a cop with his car.
The security video was from a camera attached to a pole on the opposite side of the golf-club entrance, so the angle it captured is not ideal. But it appears that Scheffler pulled up slowly to the entrance to the course, which had been blocked by police officers following a fatal car crash earlier that morning. It appears that he then complies with the officers after his car is stopped and he is detained.
Another video from the arrest released this week shows Scheffler explaining his side of the story to another officer on the scene. Scheffler said that the officer who stopped him reached in his car and “grabbed my shoulder and hit me. It seemed to be a little over-aggresive because the entrance. I pulled over a little bit because I was afraid he was going to start hitting me and I didn’t know who he was.”
Detective Bryan Gillis, who arrested Scheffler, said in his report that he sustained “pain, swelling, and abrasions” to his left wrist and knee that required a hospital visit. He also noted that his uniform pants, valued at $80, were “damaged beyond repair.” Gillis did not activate his body camera during the arrest, as required by law, and the Louisville Metro Police Department states that is has taken “corrective action” against him.
NBC News reported on Thursday that Gillis has a history of disciplinary infractions, which have resulted in multiple suspensions. Per a 2013 memo from the Louisville police chief at the time, one suspension came after Gillis drove “an intoxicated civilian in your police vehicle,” then did “‘donuts’ in a business parking lot.”
Though Scheffler was booked after his arrest, he appeared hours later on the green to compete in the second round of the PGA Championship. Perhaps the incident threw him off just a bit; he was favored to win the tournament but ended up tying for eighth place.
