Louisville police have released footage of the moment World No 1 golfer Scottie Scheffler was arrested on his way into the PGA Championship last week.
Scheffler was arrested in the early hours last Friday (May 17) as he arrived for his second round at Valhalla Golf Club in Kentucky.
The 27-year-old 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.
Almost a week on from the astonishing incident at Valhalla, Louisville police held a press conference on Thursday to provide an update on Scheffler’s situation – while also releasing two separate videos from the morning in question.
However, neither video shows Scheffler dragging Detective Bryan Gillis to the ground, as is alleged in a police citation, or the initial interaction which led to his arrest.
Contrary to reports, the Louisville Metro Police Department announced that the four charges against Scheffler – including second-degree assault of a police officer – are not being dropped ahead of his arraignment on June 3.
The LMPD also released footage of the moment Scheffler was put in handcuffs and arrested from two video cameras. They are not aware of any footage of the initial interaction between the golf star and police.
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One video came from a fixed pole camera on Shelbyville Road, while the second was recorded from the dashcam of a police car.
Footage from the pole camera shows Scheffler being stopped by a police officer who appears to hit his car as he tries to make his way into Valhalla, which seemingly came after his interaction with Bryan Gillis – the detective he is accused of dragging along and injuring after ignoring instructions to pull over.
The two-time Masters champion can then be seen exiting the vehicle and being led away in handcuffs after the incident.
In the dashcam footage, which is over 55 minutes long, the moment which led to Scheffler’s arrest cannot be made out with other vehicles blocking the view, but he is seen being escorted away in handcuffs by police at one stage.
Any additional footage or evidence will not be released until the conclusion of the legal process.
Louisville police also announced that Gillis broke policy by not turning on his bodycam during the arrest as required by policy. He is said to have received ‘corrective action’ over the violation.
In an LMPD Body Worn Camera Failure to Record Form, Gillis explained what would have been captured had he turned on his bodycam that morning.
‘While directing traffic in front of Gate 1 the PGA personnel stopped a bus from enterint Gate 1,’ he said. ‘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: [Scheffler] 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.’
Louisville Metro Police Department said Scheffler was booked on four charges; second-degree assault of a police officer, third-degree criminal mischief, reckless driving and 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.
He was set to be arraigned in a Louisville courtroom on Tuesday but that appearance was rescheduled for June 3.
There was speculation that the charges would be dropped – or even reduced. Instead, however, officials vowed to ‘to respect the legal process’ and ‘let it play out’.
‘We are all looking to move forward,’ Mayor Greenberg said. ‘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.’
Following the short press conference, when neither the mayor nor cops took questions from the media, Scheffler’s attorney released a stinging statement.
‘(This) won’t impact my case at all. Our position is the same as it was last Friday. Scottie Scheffler didn’t do anything wrong, we’re not interested in settling the case, we’ll either try it or it will be dismissed,’ he said.
‘It’s very simple. All the evidence that continues to come out continues to support what Scottie said all along – this was a chaotic situation and a miscommunication and he didn’t do anything wrong.
‘We’re prepared to litigate the case if we need to. If we don’t need to, fine, but our position remains the same: it will either be dismissed or we’ll go to trial… we’ll let the process play out.
He added: ‘My role is to represent Scottie Scheffler and that’s what I’ll continue to do. Nothing has changed since my comment last week: he didn’t do anything wrong. We will go to trial or the case will be dismissed. We have no interest in settling the case, there are no discussions regarding that. We’re prepared to litigate as need be.
Romines was aware of the video which was subsequently released on Thursday. ‘I’ve seen everything that there is to see. Everything out there supports exactly what Scottie has said from the start.’