Scottie Scheffler has been cleared of all charges after his arrest at the US PGA Championship earlier this month.
The world No 1 had faced four charges, including the felony offence of second degree assault of a police officer, in the dramatic events of May 17, when he was arrested and led away in handcuffs at the gates of Valhalla Golf Club.
Jefferson County Attorney Mike O’Connell addressed the court regarding the case on Wednesday and announced his office would not pursue criminal action against golf’s world No. 1.
O’Connell filed a motion to dismiss the case and said Scheffler’s claim the incident was a misunderstanding ‘is corroborated by the evidence’.
‘Based upon the totality of the evidence, my office cannot move forward in the prosecution of the charges filed against Mr. Scheffler,’ O’Connell said during the hearing that lasted less than 10 minutes.
Scottie Scheffler has had all charges against him dropped following his arrest outside Va;
A mugshot of golf’s World no 1 following his dramatic arrest by Louisville police this month
‘Mr. Scheffler’s characterization that this was “a big misunderstanding” is corroborated by the evidence.’
It comes less than a week after Louisville Metro police chief Jacquelyn Gwinn-Villaroel vowed to ‘to respect the legal process’ and ‘let it play out’ in a press conference.
Speaking outside the courthouse, Scheffler’s lawyer Steve Romines insisted ‘there are absolutely grounds for a lawsuit’ but said his client ‘doesn’t want to be involved in it. He wants to move on from it.’
Earlier on Wednesday, new footage emerged showing Scheffler giving his version of events to a cop while sat inside the back of a police car.
The two-time Masters champion admitted ‘I should have stopped’ before he accused ‘over-aggressive’ Detective Bryan Gillis of ‘hitting me with his flashlight’.
He also claimed he ‘was not aware’ Gillis was a cop and insisted he only accelerated away from police because he feared for his safety.
Asked about the footage, Romines added: ‘That’s why you don’t talk to the police… they are trying to get you to incriminate yourself
‘No, here’s what happened. He is being interrogated after the most stressful situation of his life. And the officer is actually asking him leading questions and trying to get him to agree with him.
‘And that’s why you don’t talk to the police. Because they are going to try to put words in your mouth. And that’s exactly what he did.
‘He didn’t have to speak. Again, he asked to talk to the officer. He wanted to explain to him what happened. However, they are trying to get him to confess to something that he didn’t do. And the video evidence shows he didn’t do it.’
The video – seemingly a recording of footage captured on a body camera – showed a tense exchange between Scheffler and an officer with the golfer sat in the back seat of a police car.
The officer reads Scheffler’s Miranda rights. Asked if he understands them, Scheffler replies: ‘Yes I do, thank you.’
Jefferson County Attorney Mike O’Connell said evidence showed it was a ‘misunderstanding’
Brand new footage of Scheffler’s arrest revealed the first conversation he had with cops
Then the golf star is asked ‘with those rights in mind, do you want to talk to me about what happened?’
Scheffler replies ‘yes please’ and started to explain: ‘So, um, my house is right up that road and so I was planning on getting here at 5:50am to start my workout for my tee time. I (inaudible) and that took me about a half hour.
‘So I’m pulling in here and the police officer up there told me to come the opposite way with the traffic and then come in. But as I was pulling in, my window was down, and the officer told me to stop. First of all, I did not know that he was a police officer, I thought he was one of the security guards that was mistaken.’
The officer interrupts and says: ‘Stop right there. Why does it matter if he’s a security guard or a police officer if someone tells you to stop?’
Scheffler replies: ‘Yes you’re right. I should have stopped. I was getting quite impatient because I’m quite late for my tee time. As he reached into the car he grabbed my shoulder and hit me.
The officer interjects: ‘Trying to get you to stop, right?’
Scheffler goes on: ‘Yes. It seemed to be a little over aggressive because the entrance was open. I pulled forward because I thought he was going to start hitting me and I didn’t know who he was. He didn’t tell me he was a police officer. All I saw was the yellow jacket. I didn’t know what he was doing.’
The detective who arrested Scheffler, Bryan Gillis, has since been given ‘corrective action’
Scheffler finished eight shots behind winner Xander Schauffele after his arrest drama
The officer replies: ‘So the thing is he’s wearing a uniform and the same jacket I have on that says police. Also, if someone is telling you stop no matter who it is you don’t keep going.
‘What happened was you kept going and you took him with you while he’s a pedestrian. You took him with your car and dragged him, which is not a good thing.
‘To make it even worse when he asked you to get out of the car, you refused to get out.’
Scheffler says: ‘I still was not aware he was a police officer. I was actually looking out of the window to try to find a police officer. Believe me sir, if I knew he was a police officer I would have been much more less afraid.
‘Panic kind of set in – as you can see I’m still shaking. I was afraid. I didn’t know who he was. He didn’t say police, he just hit me with his flashlight and yelled get out of the car.
The officer replies: ‘We’re wearing a lot of police gear. Surely that signifies we’re police.’
‘Sir, believe me, if I knew he was a police officer I would have gotten out of the car,’ countered Scheffler. ‘I don’t know what to tell you other than I was a little bit panicked trying to get into the golf course.’
Scheffler’s lawyer Steve Romines insisted ‘there are absolutely grounds for a lawsuit’
Louisville Metro police chief Jacquelyn Gwinn-Villaroel vowed to ‘to respect the legal process’ and ‘let it play out’ in a press conference last week
The officer replies: ‘Let’s go back to the first point. No matter if you thought he was a police officer or not. Why do you think we’re wearing yellow vests? So you can see us, right? So you can see us and if somebody tells you to stop, anybody, that means you stop at that time and don’t keep going so stuff like this doesn’t happen.
‘You actually hurt him. He’s a police officer. He’s got a huge scrape on his knee, he’s getting checked by EMS, he’s got a big bruise. I don’t know. But, for you right now, the main question is if you’re going to jail and it’s up to him. I don’t know.’
When Scheffler asks if he can speak to the officer, the cop replies: ‘No. Not at this time. No.’ The video then ends.
Detective Gillis has since been given ‘corrective action’ for his failure to activate his bodycam to record the situation.
Despite whispers around Valhalla during the second major of the year suggesting that charges against the PGA Tour star could be dropped, Louisville police insisted the legal process would go ahead last week.
‘We are all looking to move forward,’ Mayor Craig Greenberg said during the press conference last Thursday.
‘But we have to respect the legal process. And that’s what we are going to do. We are going to let that play out.’
Scheffler, pictured with wife Meredith, was not required to be in court on Wednesday
The childhood sweethearts recently welcomed their first child – a baby boy called Bennett
Scheffler was accused of failing to stop for police as he attempted to gain entry at a point when they were managing traffic in the wake of a fatal collision between a bus and a member of the tournament’s security staff, John Mills.
The police report said Scheffler failed to comply with instructions and then drove away from officer Gillis, causing him to be dragged along by the two-time Masters winner’s car.
He was taken to a Louisville jail and booked in Jefferson County on four charges; felony second-degree assault on a police officer, third-degree criminal mischief, reckless driving, disregarding signals from officers directing traffic.
In Kentucky, second-degree assault is a Class C felony which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000.
Scheffler was released from jail in time to make his tee time for the second round of the major championship.
In a statement following his release, Scheffler said the incident was a ‘big misunderstanding’, while his attorney Steve Romines always vowed his client would plead not guilty.