The Kentucky police officer who arrested top-ranked golfer Scottie Scheffler outdoors the PGA Championship is receiving “corrective motion” for failing to have his body-worn digicam activated when he approached the golfer’s car — an interplay that police mentioned resulted within the officer being dragged to the bottom, authorities mentioned Thursday.
Louisville officers mentioned throughout a information convention that they don’t have video footage of the preliminary interplay Friday morning between Scheffler and Louisville Detective Bryan Gillis outdoors the gates of Valhalla Golf Membership because the venue hosted the key.
The golfer was arrested on costs that he injured Gillis and disobeyed instructions, however Scheffler mentioned “he by no means meant to ignore any of the directions,” and the incident was brought on by a misunderstanding.
“Detective Gillis ought to have turned on his body-worn digicam however didn’t,” Police Chief Jacquelyn Gwinn-Villaroel mentioned. “His failure to take action is a violation of LMPD coverage on uniforms and gear.”
Gwinn-Villaroel didn’t elaborate on what “corrective motion” has been taken in opposition to Gillis for violating the coverage.
Police additionally mentioned they’re releasing a video of the occasions main as much as Scheffler’s arrest, taken by a road digicam outdoors the golf course. Louisville officers have mentioned it’s the solely video they’ve of the encounter.
Scheffler was driving earlier than daybreak to Valhalla Golf Membership to play within the second spherical of the event Friday when he was arrested and hauled to jail. Officers on the scene had been investigating the dying of a event employee who was fatally struck by a shuttle bus outdoors the gates shortly earlier than Scheffler arrived.
Gillis, who approached Scheffler’s automobile on foot, wrote in an arrest report that Scheffler “refused to conform and accelerated ahead, dragging” Gillis to the bottom. Gillis mentioned his uniform pants had been broken within the fall and he was taken to the hospital for his accidents.
Scheffler mentioned “he by no means meant to ignore any of the directions,” and the incident was brought on by a misunderstanding.
Just a few hours later, after a visit to jail, Scheffler returned to the golf course in time for his 10:08 a.m. tee time. He completed the event Sunday tied for eighth place, sufficient for a event payout of about $520,000.
He’s scheduled to return to Louisville on June 3 to be arraigned on 4 costs, together with second-degree felony assault of a police officer.
Louisville police’s present physique digicam coverage was enacted amid controversy in 2020 after officers shot Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old Black girl who was killed throughout a botched drug raid. On the time, the plain-clothes officers who served the warrant and fired at Taylor weren’t required to put on physique cameras.
The brand new coverage required all officers to activate the digicam “previous to partaking in all legislation enforcement actions and encounters.”
The police chief on the time of Taylor’s dying was later fired when officers on the scene of one other deadly capturing didn’t activate their body-worn cameras.