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Officer violated body camera rules, chief says
Scottie Scheffler arrives on the course during the second round of the PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky on May 17, 2024.
Ben Jared | PGA Tour | Getty Images
“This officer received corrective action for this policy violation” due to the severity of the violation, Gwinn-Villaroel said.
Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg, at the news conference, said the city is releasing video footage of the Friday morning incident showing the moments after Gillis arrested 27-year-old Scheffler for allegedly striking him with his car. as the golfer drove around other vehicles.
Greenberg said that “activating body-worn cameras is extremely important for our police department.” The footage came from a streetlight camera and a police car’s dashboard camera.
Louisville Police Chief Jacquelyn Gwinn-Villaroel, right, speaks to the reporter as Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg listens to the left during a press conference on Thursday, May 23, 2024, in Louisville, Kentucky, regarding the arrest of PGA golfer Scottie Scheffler.
Timothy D. Easley | SHOVEL
Louisville police policy states that officers are required to “maintain their [body-worn cameras] in a constant state of operational readiness” and for officers to “immediately activate their [body-worn cameras] in recording mode before engaging in any police activities or encounters.”
Some legal analysts expected the press conference to announce the reduction of criminal charges against Scheffler. But neither the mayor nor the police chief spoke about the progress of the case, they only said that they would not release any new information other than the video.
“We have to respect the legal process and that’s what we’re going to do,” Greenberg said.
Scheffler’s attorney, Steven Romines, after the press conference said, “Scottie Scheffler did nothing wrong.”
“We are not interested in solving the case,” Romines said. “Either we try or it will be discarded.”
“All the evidence that continues to emerge continues to support what Scottie 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 executing a no-knock warrant at her apartment as part of an investigation into an ex-boyfriend of Taylor’s who did not live with her.
Police initially said the shooting was not captured on video because officers on the team that executed the warrant did not wear body cameras. But subsequent reports said a photograph of the crime scene showed at least one officer who participated in the operation wearing a body camera and a second officer wearing a camera mount.
Taylor’s shooting and the killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer two months later, which was captured on bystander video, sparked nationwide protests over excessive force by police.
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O Department of Justice in March 2023, released a scathing report on the Louisville police department that concluded the agency was 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 black people in their enforcement activities.”
“For years, LMPD has practiced an aggressive style of policing that it uses selectively, especially against black people, but also against vulnerable people throughout the city,” the DOJ stated in its report.
Scheffler, who is white, is charged with second-degree assault on a police officer – a felony – third-degree misdemeanor, criminal mischief, reckless driving and failure to signal a police officer directing traffic.
His arrest in Louisville came as police responded to the death of a 69-year-old man who was killed by a bus outside Valhalla Golf Club, site of the PGA Championship last week.
Police said Scheffler drove in the median of a road outside the golf club and failed to comply with Gillis’ order to stop his vehicle.
Scheffler’s car then “accelerated forward, dragging [Gillis] on the ground,” the police report said.
Gillis “suffered pain, swelling and abrasions to his left wrist and knee” and was taken to a hospital, according to the report.
Scheffler was released without bail within hours and returned to the clubhouse to tee off in time for the second round of the tournament.
Scottie Scheffler hands his club to his caddy, Ted Scott, on the eighth green during the first round of the PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Club on May 16, 2024 in Louisville, Kentucky.
Ben Jared | PGA Tour | Getty Images
He said his arrest was the result of a “huge misunderstanding.”
“This morning, I was following the officers’ instructions. It was a very chaotic situation, which is understandable considering the tragic accident that occurred earlier,” Scheffler said in a post on his official website. Instagram account.
“There was a huge misunderstanding about what I thought I was being asked to do,” he said. “I never intended to disregard any of the instructions.”
Scheffler’s attorney, Romines, said last week that another officer told the golfer to go around the other vehicles.
Romines said that “several eyewitnesses confirmed that he did nothing wrong but simply proceeded as instructed.”
“He stopped immediately when directed and never attacked any police officer with his vehicle,” said the lawyer.
Scheffler is scheduled to be arraigned on June 3 and will plead not guilty, his lawyer said.
Scheffler is playing this week in the Charles Schwab Challenge in Fort Worth, Texas.