Officer who arrested Scottie Scheffler criticizes lawyer but has 'no ill will' toward golfer | News

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — The Louisville police officer who arrested Scottie Scheffler says he has “no ill will” toward the professional golfer for injuries he said he suffered while running the traffic after fatal accident at PGA Championship.

A Louisville prosecutor dropped charges against Scheffler on Wednesday. Jefferson County Prosecutor Mike O'Connell said Scheffler's explanation that he had a misunderstanding May 17 with an officer directing traffic outside Valhalla Golf Club was “supported by the evidence “.

The officer, Detective Bryan Gillis, said he wished Scheffler and his family “all the best” but disputed comments from Scheffler's attorney after Wednesday's hearing. Gillis released the one-page statement to WAVE-TV in Louisville Wednesday evening.

Scheffler's attorney, Steve Romines, said his client was “falsely arrested” and had grounds for a civil suit, but did not want to pursue it. Romines said Wednesday that several witnesses at the scene could confirm that Gillis was not dragged by the car.

Gillis wrote that Romines' claim of a false arrest was “unfortunate and disturbing” and a challenge to his “honesty and integrity.”

“To be clear, I was drugged near the car, fell to the ground and received visible injuries to my knees and wrist,” Gillis wrote. “I’ll get over it, and everything will be fine.”

Gillis also joked about his torn pants that he mentioned in the initial police report, saying, “I never imagined I would have the most famous pants in the country because of that.”

More details about the arrest emerged in an online video that appears to show Scheffler being questioned by another officer who is recording with his body camera. Louisville police released two video recordings at the scene of the arrest last week, but neither had audio.

O'Connell said Wednesday that the body camera video had not been released because his office was still investigating the case. The mayor's spokesperson also confirmed its validity to the media.

In the new video, Scheffler admitted to the officer that he “should have stopped. I got a little impatient because I'm pretty late to my departure time.” The golfer was preparing to play at the start of the second round of the four-day tournament, but was 30 minutes late arriving on the course.

Romines said the video shows Scheffler being questioned “after the most stressful situation of his life.”

Gillis was disciplined for not activating his body camera during the arrest. He wrote in a police report that Scheffler “refused to comply and accelerated, dragging” him to the ground.

Scheffler said on the recording that his window was rolled down and he heard a person yelling at him to stop, although he didn't know it was a police officer.

“As he reached the car, he grabbed my shoulder and hit me,” Scheffler said. “It seemed a little too aggressive because the entrance was open.” He said he walked away a bit “because I thought he was going to start hitting me.”

Louisville police said some videos and documents related to the case will be released later.