The Scottie Scheffler PGA Championship arrest saga added a new chapter on Thursday as the Louisville Metro Police Department held court with the media to further explain the fiasco involving the world No. 1 golfer. A pole camera video was released, too — and only raised further questions as to why the LMPD is letting this case proceed.
“Corrective action” was taken against one Detective Bryan Gillis whose $80 pants were damaged beyond repair from his encounter with Scheffler’s car, when he reached into the vehicle and tried to apprehend him. Couldn’t have compared to the blowback the guy received online, but hey, at least they held him to account for not turning his body cam on.
.@LMPD Chief Jacquelyn Gwinn-Villaroel on Scottie Scheffler's arrest: "Detective Gillis should have turned on his body-worn camera but did not. … Our officer has received corrective action for this policy violation." pic.twitter.com/93YaHxdkOe
— WDRB News (@WDRBNews) May 23, 2024
Meanwhile, Scheffler’s attorney was confident in his client’s innocence to the point where he won’t settle, and contends the case will either be dismissed, or Scheffler will be acquitted.
Charges against Scottie Scheffler will not be dropped at this time as the judicial process continues. LPD says there is still no video of the initial incident, just pole footage of the arrest.
— Brody Miller (@BrodyAMiller) May 23, 2024
“Scottie Scheffler didn’t do anything wrong.”
Steven Romines, Scottie Scheffler’s lawyer, says he and his client are not interested in settling their case. pic.twitter.com/eqrTJvq5AY
— Golf Channel (@GolfChannel) May 23, 2024
Speaking of that pole camera footage of Scheffler’s arrest, here it is!
OK so you really have to focus on the upper left-hand corner of the video, otherwise you will not see anything. First of all, if there actually was an instance of Scheffler trying to pull away from Detective Gills, dragging him, and ruining his pants, I don’t see it in this vid. Take a closer look. Does Gillis not take a super-wide angle? Isn’t Scheffler going no more than 5 mph?
Here is video of Det. Gillis seen running after Scheffler’s SUV and appearing to swing at the driver’s window. This is after the alleged dragging, police claim. pic.twitter.com/oHeUBaL9ZD
— Jason Riley (@JasonRileyWDRB) May 23, 2024
LMPD Det. Gillis said that Scottie Scheffler "demanded to be let in, and proceeded forward against my directions. I was dragged/knocked down by the driver. I then proceeded to arrest the driver." https://t.co/hyN4UrBlRy pic.twitter.com/qzDR8OMKq3
— Jason Riley (@JasonRileyWDRB) May 23, 2024
There was no attempt here by Scheffler to speed away. You can see the animated body language of the law enforcement types on the scene as they yank poor Scottie out of the car, cuff him, and escort him to another vehicle amid a massive roadblock.
Couldn’t agree more with the take below as the LMPD continues to embarrass themselves by dragging this thing out so publicly. Making matters worse, a pedestrian was struck and killed to necessitate the heavy security presence, and police are turning this into even more of a sideshow than it needs to be.
It's hard to imagine Louisville continuing to embarrass themselves more than they already are in the handling of the Scottie Scheffler stuff. Detective Gillis must be a bigger douche than we thought.
— Eddie Radosevich (@Eddie_Rado) May 23, 2024
No press is bad press, or so the saying goes. We might have a rare exception to that general rule on our hands here. They could just drop the charges, admit they screwed up, and be on their merry way. It’d actually be admirable to see them take some accountability and admit to the error of their ways. Alas, pride and ego have hijacked their minds and spirits. No other way to explain it.
Unless Scheffler dragged Detective Gillis before this video started rolling, in the very small stretch of road that’s obscured by big buses, I don’t see how that alleged incident could’ve ever happened. There just wasn’t enough room, nor does it make sense based on the sprinting route Gillis took toward Scheffler’s car before swinging at the driver’s side window.
What a mess. What a silly, stupid, unnecessary, unmitigated mess.
