Article content
World No. 1 golfer Scottie Scheffler’s legal problems are over.
Advertisement 2
Article content
All charges stemming from a shocking arrest at the PGA Championship in Louisville have been dropped.
The Jefferson Country attorney’s office announced Wednesday that it will not pursue any of the four charges against Scheffler, the most serious of which was a felony charge of assaulting a police officer.
“Based upon the totality of the evidence my office cannot move forward in the prosecution of the charges filed against Mr. Scheffler. Mr. Scheffler’s characterization that this was ‘a big misunderstanding’ is corroborated by the evidence,” attorney Mike O’Connell said.
“Mr. Scheffler’s actions and the evidence surrounding their exchange during this misunderstanding do not satisfy the elements of any criminal offences,” O’Connell added.
Article content
Advertisement 3
Article content
Advertisement 4
Article content
In a surreal scene earlier this month, Scheffler was arrested prior to the tournament’s second round. Following a fatal accident outside Valhalla Golf Club involving John Mills, an employee of a tournament vendor, Scheffler allegedly attempted to circumvent traffic and was stopped by a police officer. The actions that followed led to the golfer being arrested and charged.
The officer that charged Scheffler was disciplined for not having his body-cam activated.
“Detective (Bryan) Gillis should have turned on his body-worn camera but did not,” LMPD police chief Jacquelyn Gwinn-Villaroel said. “His failure to do so is a violation of LMPD policy on uniforms and equipment.”
Gillis has a documented history of disciplinary infractions, including a five-day suspension for doing donuts in a parking lot in his police car with an intoxicated civilian. Personnel documents posted online by Louisville’s WDRB show five previous suspensions before the Scheffler incident, dating back to 2013.
Advertisement 5
Article content
Scheffler’s lawyer, Steve Romines, has maintained the star golfer’s innocence and previously had stated he and his client had no interest in negotiating the case.
“I am not negotiating as we have no interest in settling,” Romines said. “I am preparing to litigate as needed and the case will be dismissed or we will go to trial because Scottie did absolutely nothing wrong.”
Earlier Wednesday, a leaked video posted online appears to show Scheffler explaining his side of the incident in a discussion with a police officer while he was in custody.
In the video Scheffler explains he didn’t know the man instructing him to stop was a police officer but also sayd he “should’ve stopped,” before adding, “I did get a little impatient because I’m quite late for my tee time.”
Advertisement 6
Article content
Advertisement 7
Article content
The video was initially posted on Facebook and was shared on social media platform X by Golf Digest writer Alex Myers.
“As he was reaching the car, he grabbed my shoulder and hit me,” Scheffler says in the video.
“It seemed to be a little over aggressive because the entrance was open.”
“I was afraid he was going to start hitting me and I didn’t know who he was,” he added. “He didn’t tell me he was a police officer, all I saw was the yellow jacket. I didn’t know what he was doing.”
Scheffler is scheduled to play next week a Jack Nicklaus Memorial Tournament and the following week at the U.S. Open at Pinehurst No. 2.
Recommended from Editorial
-
Cause of death in golfer Grayson Murray’s suicide revealed
-
Cop in Scottie Scheffler arrest once suspended for doing donuts in police car
Article content