Louisville police release Scottie Scheffler arrest videos, say officer violated policy
By Gabby Herzig and Alex Andrejev
May 23, 2024
The Louisville police officer involved in Scottie Scheffler’s arrest during last week’s PGA Championship did not activate his body-worn camera during the incident, a violation of the Louisville Metro Police Department’s policy, police chief Jacquelyn Gwinn-Villaroel said Thursday.
Gwinn-Villaroel said the officer, detective Bryan 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.
“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.”
Videos of the incident released Thursday, however, did not show an officer being knocked to the ground. One of the videos captured on a fixed pole camera on the street showed an officer approaching a moving car, presumably driven by Scheffler. The car then stopped as the officer approached the window, where multiple officers gathered before Scheffler was arrested. It is unclear whether Gillis was knocked down before the car becomes visible in the video.
Another video from a dashcam from a nearby police car was also released Thursday.
“We respect the judicial process and we will allow the courts to proceed accordingly,” Gwinn-Villaroel said.
Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg did not indicate that the charges against Scheffler had been dropped. Greenberg also said additional video or evidence related to the case would not be released until the conclusion of the legal process.
“Scottie Scheffler didn’t do anything wrong,” Scheffler’s lawyer, Steven Romines, said Thursday. “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.”
Scheffler addressed the situation Friday after being released from jail in time to make his tee time at Valhalla Golf Club.
“My situation will get handled,” he said. “It was a chaotic situation and a big misunderstanding.”
Scheffler faces charges of second-degree assault of a police officer, third-degree criminal mischief, reckless driving and disregarding traffic signals from an officer directing traffic.
“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 said Friday. “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.
“Like I said, my heart goes out to the family. But no, at no point did I try to name-drop myself to defuse the situation. I just tried to remain as calm as possible and just follow instructions.”
Scheffler’s arraignment is scheduled for June 3.
nytimes.com
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