All charges were dropped against the world’s No. 1-ranked player, who had a run-in with Louisville police last month at the PGA Championship.
The police officer who stopped top golfer Scottie Scheffler outside a Kentucky country club last month sustained a cut wrist and torn pants in a confrontation the officer could or should have avoided, new documents revealed Friday.
The Louisville Metro Police Department released a 63-page report on the May 17 arrest of Scheffler, the world’s No. 1-ranked player, outside Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville during the PGA Championship.
The report included photos of Detective Bryan Gillis’ bloodied left wrist and torn trousers after Scheffler was accused of driving away with the officer’s arm inside his vehicle.
The golfer was accused of failing to follow orders from police who were investigating a fatal accident outside the club, though all charges were eventually dropped.
Scheffler and Gillis disagreed about whether the golfer could enter through Gate 1 of Valhalla at about 6 a.m.
“Eventually, Detective Gillis, having determined Mr. Scheffler was refusing to follow lawful orders from an officer directing traffic, grabbed Mr. Scheffler’s left arm and attempted to open the driver’s door of the vehicle while giving verbal commands to put the car in park and step out,” according to the Louisville police report.
“Mr. Scheffler then accelerated forward with Detective Gillis’s hand pinned. Detective Gillis was able to run along side the vehicle briefly, while yelling for help before being dragged to the ground. Mr. Scheffler then stopped the vehicle and Detective Gillis was able to remove him from the vehicle and place him in custody without further incident.”
But in reviewing Gillis’ actions, Lt. Craig Browning found fault in his colleague’s decision to reach into Scheffler’s car.
“Not a violation of policy, but tactically poor decision making by Det. Gillis regarding reaching into a vehicle that is running, is in drive, and the operator has the ability to pull away/accelerate,” Browning said. “Whether Gillis grabbed Mr. Scheffler’s arm, or Mr. Scheffler ‘pinned’ Gillis’s arm with his knee is immaterial had Gillis not crossed the plain into the vehicle’s passenger compartment.”
It also wasn’t clear if Scheffler knew he was dealing with police officers in that moment.
After the alleged dragging of Gillis, Detective Kelvin Watkins approached the vehicle, and “Mr. Scheffler asked him if he was a police officer” and the golfer got out when the officer answered in the affirmative, according to the report.
Scheffler then told another detective that “he thought Detective Gillis was a security guard and didn’t know he was a police officer,” the report said.
Scheffler was led away in handcuffs and booked into custody on allegations of second-degree assault of a police officer, third-degree criminal mischief, reckless driving and disregarding signals from officers directing traffic.
He was released later in the morning, got back to the course and shot a 5-under 66, his second-best day of his four in Louisville, on his way to an eighth-place tournament finish.
Source: NBC News
