One of the police officers who was on scene when Scottie Scheffler was arrested in Louisville earlier this year has now been arrested himself.
According to a report from Ward Jolles of Wave 3 News, Louisville Metro Police Department officer Javar Downs was taken into custody on Friday after he was accused of pocketing $4,000 that he seized from a suspect who was being booked. LMPD says Downs allegedly took the money shortly after a traffic stop that took place at around 12:45 a.m. on Wednesday.
Police found $10,000 during a search of the man who had been stopped in the traffic stop. Downs is accused of taking roughly $4,000 of the money and submitting the rest to evidence. An arrest citation from LMPD states that Downs was booked on theft and official misconduct charges.
Scheffler was arrested on May 17 outside of Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Ky. Police were redirecting traffic after a pedestrian was struck by a passenger shuttle and killed. Scheffler was unaware of what had happened and was trying to enter the golf club despite being redirected by police. He ended up allegedly dragging a police officer who was hanging on to the golfer’s car.
During an investigation into Scheffler’s arrest, LMPD announced that three officers failed to follow protocol and had their body-worn cameras turned off. Downs was one of those officers.
Police were still able to obtain some footage from the scene, and photos showed the injuries that were sustained by the officer who arrested Scheffler.
Scheffler had been charged with reckless driving, criminal mischief, and second degree assault of a police officer, which is a felony. Prosecutors eventually dropped the charges and said evidence showed the situation was a big misunderstanding.
