Officer disciplined for not using body cam while Scottie Scheffler allegedly dragged him with car
The police officer who arrested Scottie Scheffler outside the PGA Championship last week in Louisville, Ky., has been disciplined for not turning on his body camera during his interaction with the world’s top golfer.
Scheffler was arrested after attempting to drive into the entrance at Valhalla Golf Club as police were investigating a fatal traffic accident that had occurred at the site earlier that Friday morning.
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According to a police report filed soon after the incident, Louisville Metro Police Det. Bryan Gillis stopped Scheffler, who refused to comply with the officer’s instructions and accelerated his vehicle forward, “dragging Detective Gillis to the ground” and causing injuries.
No video of that part of the interaction between the golfer and detective has been located, Louisville Metro Police Chief Jacquelyn Gwinn-Villaroel said during a news conference Thursday that provided details from the department’s investigation into the events of that day. The department did post two videos showing Scheffler’s arrest on its YouTube channel Thursday.
“Det. Gillis should have turned on his body-worn camera but did not. His failure to do so is a violation of LMPD policy on uniforms and equipment,” Gwinn-Villaroel said. “Det. Gillis did not have his body-worn camera operationally ready as required by our policy. He was performing a law-enforcement action as defined in our policy. Further, section 4.31.7 states members will maintain their BWC in constant state of operational readiness.”
“Det. Gillis was counseled by his supervisor. We understand the seriousness of the failure to capture this interaction, which is why our officer has received corrective action for this policy violation. This corrective action has been notated on a performance observation form which is in line with our disciplinary protocol and practices,” Gwinn-Villaroel said.
In a police report concerning the failure of his body-worn camera to record the incident, Gillis wrote that upon arriving at the accident site he “immediately started directing traffic in front of Gate 1, and never powered up my BWC.”
Gwinn-Villaroel did not give details on the corrective action taken. She and Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg, who also spoke during the news conference, did not take questions from reporters.
“I know there are a lot of questions right now from every member of the media here and people across the entire city. We have to respect the legal process, and that’s what we are going to do,” Greenberg said. “And we’re going to let that play out.”
Scheffler was booked on four charges: second-degree assault of a police officer, which is a felony, third-degree criminal mischief, reckless driving and disregarding traffic signals from an officer directing traffic. He was released without bail and was able to play his second round at the PGA Championship that day, shooting a five-under 66.
On Sunday, Scheffler finished the tournament tied for eighth place.
After the second round, Scheffler told reporters that the events leading to his arrest were “a big misunderstanding” that he felt would “get resolved fairly quickly.”
Following Thursday’s news conference, Scheffler’s attorney told reporters his client would fight the charges.
“Our position is the same as it was last Friday,” Steven Romines said. “Scottie Scheffler didn’t do anything wrong. We’re not interested in settling the case; we will either try it or it’ll 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.”
