(AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
Recently released body cam footage shows a conversation between Scottie Scheffler and a police officer moments after the golfer was arrested a tournament.
Two weeks ago, Scheffler arrived at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky for the second round of the PGA Championship. When he got to the club, traffic was packed up due to a fatal accident that occurred earlier. Because of this, only players were being allowed in. When Scheffler attempted to drive forward and go in to prepare for his upcoming tee time, however, he was stopped by an officer and instructed to exit his car. He was arrested, processed, and charged before being released and making it back to the club in time for the second round.
The police report of the incident claimed the officer who stopped him, Detective Bryan Gillis, was dragged by the car and injured.
On May 23, police released surveillance footage from the club that shows the arrest. Police also released body cam footage of Scheffler pleading his case to another officer after he was arrested and placed in a squad car.
“I had to loop all the way around that way,” Scheffler said. “[It] took about probably half an hour. So, I’m pulling in here [and] the police officer up there told me to come the opposite way with the traffic and then come in; and as I was pulling in, my window was down. An officer told me to stop.
“First of all, I did not know he was a police officer. I thought he was one of the security guards that was mistaken; and as I was pulling by him, he grabbed my arm.”
The officer cut him off and asked why it mattered that Scheffler thought he was a security guard as opposed to a police officer.
“You’re right,” Scheffler responded. “I should’ve stopped. I did get a little bit impatient because I’m quite late for my tee time; and as he was reaching in the car, he grabbed my shoulder and hit me… It seemed to be a little over-aggressive because the entrance was open. I pulled over because I was afraid. I thought he was gonna start hitting me and I didn’t know who he was. 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.”
The officer argued that he and every other officer were in
“Also, if someone’s telling you to stop, no matter who it is, you don’t keep going,” the officer said. “So, what happened is you kept going and you took him with you while he’s a pedestrian. So, you took him with your car and [dragged] him, which is not a good thing.
“To make it even worse, when he asked you to get out of the car, you refused to get out of the car.”
Scheffler insisted that his actions were based on the fact that he didn’t know the man was an officer.
“If I knew he was a police officer, I would’ve been much less afraid,” Scheffler said, “but panic kinda set in. As you can see, I’m still shaking because I was afraid I didn’t know who he was. He didn’t say, ‘Police, get out of the car.’ He just hit me with his flashlight and yelled, ‘Get out of the car.'”