Twelve days after Scottie Scheffler, the world’s top-ranked male golfer, was arrested and charged with three misdemeanors and a felony for an interaction with a police officer outside the gates of the PGA Championship, those charges have been dropped.
Scheffler was exonerated in a Louisville court room Wednesday morning when Jefferson County Attorney Mike O’Connell, the lead prosecutor in the investigation, told a judge that after he and his team reviewed the evidence against Scheffler, they found no probable cause to pursue the charges.
The incident in question happened when a police investigation into a pedestrian fatality and ensuing traffic jam wreaked havoc outside Valhalla Golf Club early on the Friday morning of PGA Championship week. According to the police report, Scheffler attempted to bypass the backup by pulling around the congestion into an adjacent lane, where Detective Bryan Gillis of the Louisville Metro Police was directing traffic. Gillis said that he stopped Scheffler and attempted to give him instructions, but that Scheffler “refused to comply and accelerated forward, dragging (him) to the ground.”
Gillis arrested Scheffler moments later. For his part, Scheffler, in a statement, described the situation as “very chaotic,” adding, “There was a big misunderstanding of what I thought I was being asked to do. I never intended to disregard any of the instructions.”
Muddying the investigation was the lack of video evidence. Gillis was wearing a body camera but had not activated it, which is a violation of department policy, Louisville Metro Police Chief Jacquelyn Gwinn-Villaroel said in a press conference last week.
In court on Wednesday, O’Connell said: “Mr. Scheffler’s characterization that this was a ‘big misunderstanding’ is corroborated by the evidence. The evidence we review supports the conclusion that Detective Gillis was concerned for public safety at the scene when he initiated contact with Mr. Scheffler. However, Mr. Scheffler’s actions and the evidence around their exchange during this misunderstanding do not satisfy the elements of any criminal offenses.
“For these reasons, Judge, I now tender toward the court a motion to dismiss all these charges in this case against Mr. Scheffler with prejudice.”
Follow the court session, Scottie Scheffler’s attorney, Steve Romines, told media: “Scottie Scheffler, you cannot find one person to say a bad word about him. When he’s in a police car after being falsely arrested, he is still a perfect gentleman. … We need more Scottish Schefflers in the world.”
Romines added that Scheffler will not pursue a counterclaim against Louisville police. The matter, Romines said, is closed.
The Louisville Metro Police issued a statement that read in part, “We respect the County Attorney’s decision, and we respect the judicial process. LMPD will remain focused on our mission to serve the city of Louisville and mitigate violent crime.”
Scheffler also issued a statement, saying in part: “I hold no will will toward Officer Gillis. I wish to put this incident behind me, and I hope he will do the same. Police officers have a difficult job and I hold them in high regard. This was a severe miscommunication in a chaotic situation.”
Scheffler is not playing this week. His next scheduled start is at the Memorial Tournament, in Ohio, next week.