Video of golf champ Scottie Scheffler’s arrest released, officer broke body camera rules

“This officer received corrective action for this policy violation” due to the severity of the violation, Gwinn-Villaroel said.

Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg announced at the news conference the release of video footage of the Friday morning incident showing the moments after Gillis arrested Scheffler, 27, for allegedly assaulting him with his car as the golfer drove around other vehicles.

The footage came from a pole camera and a police car dashboard camera.

Polar camera video shows Gillis running after Scheffler’s car as it slowly turns behind several large vehicles, with the detective slamming his hand or arm against the golfer’s car and Scheffler immediately stopping. Gillis and other officers then took him out and handcuffed him about 50 seconds later.

The video does not capture the seconds before Gillis reported he was being dragged by Scheffler’s car.

Greenberg said “activating body cameras is critically important to our police department.”

Louisville police policy states that officers are required to “maintain their (body-worn cameras) in a constant state of operational readiness” and that officers “immediately activate their (body-worn cameras) in d registration before engaging in any law enforcement activities. activities or meetings.”

Some legal analysts expected the news conference to announce the reduction of criminal charges against Scheffler. But neither the mayor nor the police chief spoke about the status of the case, saying only that they would not release any new information other than the video footage.

“We have to follow due process, and that’s what we’re going to do,” Greenberg said.

Scheffler’s attorney, Steven Romines, said after the news conference, “Scottie Scheffler did nothing wrong.”

“We don’t want to settle the matter,” Romines said. “Either we will try it or it will be rejected.”

“All the evidence that continues to emerge continues to support what Scottie has said all along, it was just a chaotic situation and a miscommunication and he did nothing wrong.”

Louisville police were heavily criticized for the March 2020 fatal shooting of Breonna Taylor while serving an arrest warrant at her apartment as part of an investigation into a former boyfriend of Taylor’s who was not living not with her.

Police initially said the shooting was not filmed because officers on the team that executed the warrant were not wearing body cameras. But later reports said a crime scene photograph showed at least one officer who participated in the raid wearing a body camera and a second officer carrying a camera stand.

Taylor’s shooting and the killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer two months later, which was filmed by bystanders, sparked nationwide protests against excessive use of force by police.

The Justice Department released a scathing report on the Louisville Police Department in March 2023 that found the agency engaged in a pattern of conduct that included the use of excessive force, illegal execution of search warrants, illegal stops and searches and discrimination “against blacks in its enforcement activities.

“For years, LMPD has practiced an aggressive style of policing that it selectively deploys, particularly against Black people, but also against vulnerable people throughout the city,” the DOJ said in its report.

Scheffler, who is white, is charged with second-degree assault on a police officer — a felony — third-degree criminal mischief, reckless driving and failure to obey the signals of an officer directing traffic.

His arrest in Louisville came as police responded to the death of a 69-year-old man killed by a shuttle bus outside Valhalla Golf Club, site of the PGA Championship last week.

Police said Scheffler drove onto the median of a road outside the golf club and failed to comply with Gillis’ command to stop his vehicle.

Scheffler’s car then ‘accelerated forward, dragging (Gillis) to the ground,’ the police report states.

Gillis “suffered pain, swelling and abrasions to his left wrist and knee” and was taken to the hospital, according to the report.

Scheffler was released without bail a few hours later and returned to the club to tee off in time for the second round of the tournament.

He said his arrest was the result of a “big misunderstanding.”

“This morning I proceeded as instructed by the police officers. It was a very chaotic situation, which is understandable given the tragic accident that occurred earlier,” Scheffler said in a message posted on his official Instagram account.

“There was a big misunderstanding about what I thought I was being asked to do,” he said. “I never intended to ignore any of the instructions.”

Scheffler’s attorney, Romines, said last week that the golfer was asked by another officer to move around other vehicles.

Romines said that “several eyewitnesses confirmed that he did nothing wrong but was simply proceeding as instructed.”

“He stopped immediately after being ordered to do so and at no time did he attack a police officer with his vehicle,” the lawyer said.

Scheffler is scheduled to be arraigned June 3 and will plead not guilty, his lawyer said.

Scheffler is competing in the Charles Schwab Challenge in Fort Worth, Texas this week.