Moment Scottie Scheffler ‘nudges’ cop with his car as new footage of number one golfer’s arrest is RELEASED
WORLD No.1 golfer Scottie Scheffler appears to nudge a police officer with his car in dramatic new video released by cops ahead of his looming court date.
All police footage related to the Masters champ, 27, allegedly driving into a cop at the PGA Championship has now been made public.
Louisiana cops released two new clips of the arrest, one with dashcam footage and another taken from a high vantage point overlooking the busy road.
The dashcam footage shows Scheffler flanked by two officers and being hauled into a cop car at the scene.
Further video shows the moment he drives his car slowly towards the gates near the golf course, as an officer rushes towards the moving vehicle and is nudged by the bonnet.
The cop, seemingly unhurt, quickly leans towards the open driver’s side window to speak with Scheffler.
He even appears to lean inside the vehicle, before another officer in high vis clothing approaches the car.
Once there are at least four cops crowding the driver’s door Scheffler gets out of his car and is led away in handcuffs, shown more clearly in the dashcam footage.
The golf star was previously alleged to have dragged the officer to the ground with his car, leaving him in hospital.
The previously unseen footage does not appear to show anything remotely similar to this.
Scheffler was arrested outside the PGA Championship course in Louisville and accused of assaulting a police officer last Friday.
Louisville Metro Police Chief Jacquelyn Gwinn-Villaroel today provided her “completed findings” following an investigation into the incident, which Scheffler has called a “big misunderstanding”.
In a press conference on Thursday morning Louisville officials said the investigation is ongoing and court procedures against him are set to continue.
The golfer has been charged with second-degree assault of a police officer, third-degree criminal mischief, reckless driving, and disregarding traffic signals.
It was revealed this week that his arrest would need to be reviewed as the arresting officer Bryan Gillis had failed to turn on his bodycam video before Scheffler was cuffed.
Louisville police pledged to investigate and “appropriately address” any policy violations which might have arisen from the arrest.
Chief Gwinn-Villaroel said: “The internal investigation is still ongoing.
“Any policy violations that are revealed through the course of the investigation will be appropriately addressed according to LMPD’s disciplinary protocol.
“The department intends to provide an additional update on the investigation on Thursday, May 23, 2024.”
Louisville’s Mayor Craig Greenberg stressed during his weekly news conference that “action will be taken” if policies were not followed.
He said: “I still have questions about why it was not on during Mr Scheffler’s arrest.”
A department memo from cops on Wednesday revealed their decision to make all footage public.
It read: “[Louisville] Mayor Craig Greenberg and LMPD Chief Jacquelyn Gwinn-Villaroel will give an update on the internal investigation into the incident regarding Detective Bryan Gillis and Mr. Scheffler.
“The Chiefs will provide her completed findings and address any police visitations. All currently available video regarding the incident will be released.”
The golf pro was due to appear in court on Tuesday, but the date of his arraignment was pushed out to June 3.
Scheffler is prepared to go to trial if the charges against him are not dropped, according to his lawyer.
WHAT HAPPENED?
Traffic had been backed up for about a mile in both directions on a road which led to Valhalla Golf Club, where the PGA Championship was being held, on the morning of May 17 after an earlier fatal accident.
Witnesses claimed Scheffler tried to drive around what he believed to be security staff.
The golfer reportedly stepped out of his car when a cop attached himself to his vehicle and screamed at him to stop driving.
Arresting officer Bryan Gillis, who is said to have not had his bodycam switched on, had tried to give Scheffler instructions amid the traffic chaos outside Valhalla, according to a police report.
But the golfer “refused to comply and accelerated forward, dragging Detective Gillis to the ground,” the report claimed.
The detective was reported to have “suffered pain, swelling, and abrasions to his left wrist and knee”.
Video from the scene showed him being cuffed and bundled into a police car – before he was dressed in an orange shirt for a mugshot at a Louisville police station.
He returned to the golf course less than an hour before he teed off in the Championship’s second round.
Scheffler was charged with a felony offence of second-degree assault of a police officer, third-degree criminal mischief, reckless driving and disregarding traffic signals from an officer.
In a statement released by the pro while he was warming up, he said: “This morning, I was proceeding as directed by police officers.
“It was a very chaotic situation, understandably so considering the tragic accident that had occurred earlier, and there was a big misunderstanding of what I thought I was being asked to do.
“I never intended to disregard any of the instructions.”