A video has surfaced that shows Scottie Scheffler explaining his side of what happened just before he was arrested outside Valhalla Golf Club earlier this month.
Brian Gillis, the Louisville Metro Police Department detective that arrested Scheffler prior to the second round of the PGA Championship, did not have his body-worn camera turned on. LMPD chief Jacquelyn Gwinn-Villaroel said last week that Gillis violated protocol by not turning his camera on and has “received corrective action.”
Another officer who spoke with Scheffler after the initial incident did have his body-worn camera turned on. Footage of that exchange recently surfaced, and it shows Scheffler explaining that he did not know Gillis was a police officer when Gillis initially confronted him. Scheffler acknowledged not stopping at Gillis’ initial command, though the World No. 1 golfer says he was frightened.
“First of all, I did not know that he was a police officer,” Scheffler told the other officer. “I thought he was one of the security guards that was mistaken. … I did get a little bit impatient because I’m quite late for my tee time. As he was reaching in the car he grabbed my shoulder and hit me. It seemed to be a little bit overaggressive because the entrance was open. I pulled over because I was afraid he was gonna 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 officer in the video could then be heard telling Scheffler that the yellow vests all of the officers were wearing clearly said “police” on them. The officer also told Scheffler that Scheffler kept driving when ordered to stop and “took (the officer) with your car and (dragged) him.” Scheffler responded “yes, sir,” but insisted he did not know Gillis was a police officer and that “panic kind of set in.”
“If I knew he was a police officer, I would have gotten out of the car,” Scheffler said. “I don’t know what to tell you other than I was a little bit panicked trying to get into the golf course.”
The officer then told Scheffler that Gillis had a “huge scrape on his knee” and a “big bruise.” You can see more of the exchange:
A video on Facebook since May 23 captures Scottie Scheffler's conversation in police car after arrest. "You're right, I should have stopped. I did get a little impatient because I'm quite late for my tee time." Cop says he "drug" and "hurt" officer. https://t.co/R4YtBZ2Wg3 pic.twitter.com/IosEtwj2tZ
— Alex Myers (@AlexMyers3) May 29, 2024
LMPD released footage last week that was taken from one camera mounted on a nearby street pole and another inside the dash of a police car at the scene. That footage did not appear to show Scheffler dragging an officer, though it seems there was another initial interaction with Gillis that was not captured. You can see the footage here.
Scheffler is facing four charges including reckless driving, criminal mischief, and second degree assault of a police officer (a felony). His attorney has said Scheffler did nothing wrong and will not accept any type of settlement.
