Louisville Has a Word With Detective Who Arrested Golfer

Police chief says body camera should have been used during confrontation with Scheffler
By Bob Cronin,  Newser Staff
Posted May 23, 2024 3:10 PM CDT

Police Detective Bryan Gillis broke department policy last week during his arrest of the world's No. 1 golfer by not turning his body camera on during the confrontation, the mayor and police chief of Louisville said Thursday. Scottie Scheffler was taken into custody while in town to play in the PGA Championship. "Activating body-worn cameras is critically important for our police department," Mayor Craig Greenberg said at a news conference, the Wall Street Journal reports. Police Chief Jacquelyn Gwinn-Villaroel said, "Detective Gillis was counseled by his supervisor," per NBC News, which she described as a "corrective action."

No video exists of the beginning of the interaction, the mayor said, though the city released footage taken by other cameras that doesn't clear up much. There was a traffic jam outside the golf club after a tournament worker, John Mills, was struck and killed by a shuttle bus, and officers were directing vehicles. The arresting officer alleges Scheffler ignored the orders that were given to him and "accelerated forward," bringing the officer to the ground; Scheffler says he was following instructions from another officer.

He was booked and released in time to make his tee time, but he still faces charges including second-degree assault of a police officer, third-degree criminal mischief, and reckless driving. The mayor and police chief didn't add any information about how Scheffler came to be handcuffed and held in a jail cell. "Last Friday morning, our community suffered the tragic death with the loss of Mr. Mills," Greenberg said, per NBC. "That tragic death led to a series of very unfortunate events in dark, rainy and tense conditions." (More Scottie Scheffler stories.)

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