A video posted on Facebook last week that resurfaced on Wednesday by Golf Digest Senior Writer Alex Myers shows Scottie Scheffler’s discussion with police moments after he was arrested while trying to enter the Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky, earlier this month.
Scheffler was taken into custody after he attempted to drive onto the golf club property ahead of his early tee time in the second round of the PGA Championship on May 17. A fatal accident involving a pedestrian earlier in the morning, which was unrelated to Scheffler’s arrest, had shut down traffic heading into the Valhalla Golf Club.
The resurfaced footage, which appears to be taken from one of the officer’s body cameras, shows Scheffler telling an officer that he was instructed by a policeman to “come the opposite way with the traffic” to get into the golf club. Moments later, however, Louisville Police Department Detective Bryan Gillis told him to stop and “grabbed” his arm and “hit” him, according to Scheffler.
“So, I’m pulling in here [and] the police officer up there told me to come the opposite way with the traffic and then come in; and as I was pulling in, my window was down, an officer told me to stop,” Scheffler said. “First of all, I did not know he was a police officer. I thought he was one of the security guards that was mistaken; and as I was pulling by him, he grabbed my arm.”
“Stop right there,” the cop tells Scheffler in the video. “Why does it matter if he’s a security guard or a police officer if someone is telling you to stop?”
“Yes, you’re right,” Scheffler replied. “I should’ve stopped. I did get a little bit impatient because I’m quite late for my tee time; and as he was reaching in the car, he grabbed my shoulder and hit me. … It seemed to be a little over-aggressive because the entrance was open. I pulled over because I was afraid. I thought he was gonna start hitting me and I didn’t know who he was. He didn’t tell me he was a police officer. All I saw was the yellow jacket. I didn’t know what he was doing.”
The officer told Scheffler that Gillis was wearing a uniform and a brightly colored jacket that was easily recognizable.
“Also, if someone’s telling you to stop, no matter who it is, you don’t keep going,” the officer said. “So, what happened is you kept going and you took him with you while he’s a pedestrian, okay? So, you took him with your car and [dragged] him, which is not a good thing.”
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“So listen to me, to make it even worse, when he asked you to get out of the car, you refused to get out of the car,” the officer added.
Scheffler told him he “was not aware” that Gillis “was a police officer.”
“I was actually looking out the window of the car to try to find a police officer,” he said. “If I knew he was a police officer, I would’ve been much less afraid, but panic kinda set in. As you can see, I’m still shaking because I was afraid I didn’t know who he was. He didn’t say, ‘Police, get out of the car.’ He just hit me with his flashlight and yelled, ‘Get out of the car.’”
The officer told the No. 1 golfer in the world that it doesn’t matter if Gillis were a traffic guard, a security guard, or a cop, saying that “if someone tells you to stop … that means you stop at that time.”
“You actually hurt [Gillis],” the officer said. “He’s got a huge scrape on his knee. He’s getting checked by EMS — a big bruise.”
A video on Facebook since May 23 captures Scottie Scheffler’s conversation in police car after arrest. “You’re right, I should have stopped. I did get a little impatient because I’m quite late for my tee time.” Cop says he “drug” and “hurt” officer. https://t.co/R4YtBZ2Wg3 pic.twitter.com/IosEtwj2tZ
— Alex Myers (@AlexMyers3) May 29, 2024
Scheffler was charged with four crimes, including felony 2nd-degree assault of an officer. A Jefferson County, Kentucky, prosecutor and Scheffler’s attorney are due in court for a hearing on Wednesday as Scheffler’s defense argues for the charges to be dropped, CNN reported. The golfer said the incident resulted from a “big misunderstanding.”
