World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler’s dramatic PGA Championship week is over, but the fallout from his bizarre arrest is still ongoing, as evidenced by two major updates involving Scheffler’s case over the past day.
As of Wednesday, May 22, Scheffler is preparing to compete at this week’s Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial Country Club, near Scheffler’s home in Dallas, Texas. A big reason he was able to do so came via a postponement to his arraignment date in Louisville.
Scheffler faces four charges stemming from his early-morning arrest near Valhalla on Friday before the second round of last week’s PGA Championship. Among those alleged offenses is a charge of second-degree assault of a police officer, a felony, which carries a potential sentence of 5-10 years in prison.
Scheffler was initially scheduled to be arraigned May 21, but that was postponed to June 3.
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Later on Tuesday, Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg announced that the police department will investigate the actions of the officers involved in Scheffler’s arrest and whether or not they followed proper protocols.
During his press conference on Tuesday announcing the investigation, Greenberg was asked why the arresting officer’s body cam was not activated during Scheffler’s arrest.
“From my understanding, based on the facts I am aware of right now, I understand why body cam may not have been turned on at the initial contact between Officer Gillis and Mr. Scheffler,” Greenberg told reporters. “I still have questions about why it was not on during Mr. Scheffler’s arrest.”
Scheffler’s account of the incident, and the accounts of an ESPN reporter and an ESPN play-by-play announcer present during the arrest, differ from those of the arresting officer, Detective Bryan Gillis of the Louisville Metro Police.
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The incident began as Scheffler was trying to get to the course early Friday morning at approximately 6 a.m ET., but a fatal accident near the entrance had caused what Scheffler called a “chaotic” traffic situation.
Gillis said he stopped Scheffler and attempted to give him instructions, but that Scheffler “refused to comply and accelerated forward, dragging [him] to the ground.”
According to the police report, Gillis “suffered pain, swelling, and abrasions to his left wrist and knee. He was transported to the hospital for further medical treatment by emergency medical personnel. Detective Gillis’ uniform pants, valued at approximately $80, were damaged beyond repair.”
In a statement released later that morning, Scheffler wrote that he had been “proceeding as directed by police offers” and that the incident stemmed from a “big misunderstanding of what I thought I was being asked to do. I never intended to disregard any of the instructions.”
Scheffler’s attorney, Steve Romines, told GOLF.com, “Scottie did not intentionally do anything wrong. He was doing exactly what they told him to do.” He also confirmed to GOLF.com that Scheffler plans to plead “not guilty” to the charges.
ESPN’s Bob Wischusen — who was in a van at the scene of the arrest with ESPN’s Jeff Darlington, who first reported the arrest — also witnessed the incident and described it this way:
“When [Scheffler] drove past him, the cop got very angry pursuing the car,” Wischusen told GOLF.com. “…My impression was he was kind of running alongside chasing the car, and maybe he tripped and fell. I mean, there was kind of an outcropping or median, you know, by the front gate. And keep in mind, it was raining. It was 6 o’clock in the morning. It was dark.”
He continued, “I could see him stumble, but I did not have a very clear view of exactly how you want to categorize his contact with the car.”
Scheffler tees off for the opening round of the 2024 Charles Schwab Challenge in Fort Worth on Thursday afternoon at 1:45 p.m. ET.
