Louisville Metro Police Chief Jacquelyn Gwinn-Villaroel announced that a police officer who arrested golfer Scottie Scheffler faced disciplinary action for failing to activate his body camera.
Scheffler was taken into custody before the second day of the PGA Championship in Louisville, Kentucky, after he allegedly disobeyed police traffic orders and dragged an officer several yards with his car. Gwinn-Villaroel stated in a press conference that Detective Bryan Gillis did not have his body camera on during the incident last Friday and that he “has received corrective action for this policy violation.”
“Detective Gillis should have turned on his body-worn camera, but did not. His failure to do so is a violation of the LMPD policy,” Gwinn-Villaroel said.
Scheffler was arrested for allegedly trying to bypass the scene of an earlier fatal traffic accident involving a bus and a pedestrian on Friday morning. He was charged with second-degree assault of a police officer, third-degree criminal mischief, reckless driving, and ignoring traffic signals from an officer directing traffic. He was released on personal recognizance later that morning and participated in the PGA Championship.
Authorities released footage from the scene where Scheffler was apprehended but mentioned they were unaware of any that captured the initial interaction between Scheffler and Gillis.
Officials refrained from commenting on the charges against Scheffler, merely stating they would respect the legal process. Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg expressed that all parties wish to move forward.
“We have to respect the legal process and that’s what we are going to do, and we’re going to let that play out,” Greenberg said on Thursday. “We want to move forward. Mr. Scheffler has made it clear that he wants to move forward and I know that everyone else involved with LMPD wants to move forward.”
In a statement posted on his Instagram story last week, Scheffler claimed the incident was “a big misunderstanding” and said he “never intended to disregard any of the instructions.”
