Charges Against Scottie Scheffler Dropped After Golf Star's Arrest Outside PGA Championship
Jefferson County Attorney Mike O'Connell said his office "cannot move forward" in prosecuting Scheffler on charges from his May 17 arrest
The charges against golfer Scottie Scheffler stemming from his May 17 arrest have been dropped, Jefferson County Attorney Mike O'Connell said in court on Wednesday.
O'Connell addressed the court, as seen in a video stream from WDRB News, calling the events that led to 27-year-old Scheffler's arrest a "confusing and chaotic scene" on the morning before the second round of the PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Club.
"Based on the totality of evidence, my office cannot move forward in the prosecution of the charges filed against Mr. Scheffler," O'Connell said on May 29.
Scheffler was attempting to drive to the golf course, which had been taken over by a police scene after a man later identified as vendor John Mills was tragically struck and killed by a shuttle bus as he attempted to cross the street about an hour earlier. Traffic to the golf course had been stopped and the second round, previously scheduled to start at 7:15 a.m., had been delayed by PGA of America officials to 8:35 a.m.
Scheffler, who welcomed son Bennett with his wife Meredith just days earlier on May 8, had tried to drive around the the crash by way of the median, and police said at the time that he ignored orders to stop. When Scheffler did stop the car, he was pulled out of the vehicle and placed in handcuffs. He was released around three hours later without bail and resumed playing at the tournament.
Related: Who Is Scottie Scheffler's Wife? All About Meredith Scudder
Scheffler was facing a felony charge of second-degree assault of a police officer, as well as multiple misdemeanor charges including third-degree criminal mischief, reckless driving and disregarding traffic signals from an officer directing traffic before the charges were dropped.
Soon after the tournament ended, in which Scheffler finished tied for 8th place, the city announced that there were errors in the police department's handling of the case. On May 23, Mayor Craig Greenberg and Chief Jacquelyn Gwinn-Villaroel said that Detective Bryan Gillis had faced penalization after the LMPD found that he failed to activate his body-worn camera during Scheffler's arrest, which violates the department's standard operating procedures.
According to a memorandum released by the Louisville Metro Police Department, Det. Gillis completed a Failure to Activate form, in which he explained his "reason for not recording" and "what would have been captured" if his body-worn camera had been activated.
"I was requested to respond to fatal on Shelbyville Rd. prior to my reporting time for the PGA. When I arrived I immediately started directing traffic in front of Gate 1, and never powered up my BWC," Det. Gillis wrote in the form.
Describing what the body-worn camera would have captured, the detective wrote, "While directing traffic in front of Gate 1 the PGA personnel stopped a bus from entering Gate 1. I observed a vehicle traveling in the opposing lanes coming at me. I stopped the driver and advised him he could to proceed because of the bus. He demanded to be let in, and proceeded forward against my directions. I was dragged/knocked down by the driver. I then proceeded to arrest the driver."
According to CNN, Det. Gillis has faced “corrective action" for the violation, though no further information was given on his penalization.
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The Louisville Metro Police Department also released two videos from the morning of Scheffler's arrest from a police dash cam and a fixed pole camera, which showed him stopping for police as directed.
Next, Scheffler is set to appear in the Memorial Tournament in Dublin, Ohio, with the first round beginning on June 6.
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