Photo: Michael Reaves/Getty Images
Last Friday, 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. But 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 comes from a camera attached to a pole on the opposite side of the golf-club entrance, so the angle it captures 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.
Scheffler has pleaded not guilty to charges that include second-degree assault of a police officer, reckless driving, and third-degree criminal mischief. He later described the event as a “big misunderstanding.” 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.
