The Louisville Metro Police Department detective who arrested golf star Scottie Scheffler last week violated the department’s policies by failing to turn on his body camera during the incident, officials said Thursday.
An internal investigation found that Detective Bryan Gillis did not turn on his body-worn camera during the encounter, LMPD Chief Jacquelyn Gwinn-Villaroel said in a news conference.
Meanwhile, dashcam footage released by police shows Scheffler in handcuffs being escorted by two officers at the scene (seen at about the 25:15 mark of the video). Police also released video from a fixed-pole camera, showing a bird’s-eye view of the area.
Gillis was among the dozens of officers on the scene after a pedestrian was struck by a shuttle bus near Valhalla Golf Club, where the PGA Championship was being held. Scheffler allegedly tried to drive around traffic caused by the investigation. According to a police report, Scheffler was in an eastbound lane and tried to pull into the westbound lanes, where Gillis, in uniform, was standing.
Gillis stopped Scheffler and attempted to give him instructions, but Scheffler “refused to comply and accelerated forward,” according to the report. Gillis was dragged “to the ground” and suffered “pain, swelling, and abrasions to his left wrist,” according to the report.
Scheffler was booked for second-degree assault of a police officer, third-degree criminal mischief, reckless driving and disregarding traffic signals from an officer directing traffic.
Louisville Metropolitan Department of Corrections
Scheffler said online that he was in a “very chaotic situation” and that “there was a big misunderstanding of what I thought I was being asked to do.” In a statement to CBS News, Scheffler’s attorney Steve Romines said the golfer “never at any point assaulted any officer with his vehicle” and added that “we will litigate this matter as needed.”
Because Gillis was “performing a law enforcement action,” he should have had his camera turned on, Gwinn-Villaroel said Thursday. He has “received corrective action for this policy violation,” she said, which has been notated on a performance observation form, as is standard disciplinary protocol for the department.
Gillis’ supervisor noted that the detective “should have had” his body-worn camera turned on and “at least in standby mode” while on the scene.
“Due to the confusion in the are [sic] at the time, his sense of urgency in responding to the fatal MVA and expediting traffic for the PGA Championship, he failed to comply with powering it on,” the supervisor noted.
Gillis’ division commander noted in the same form that “enough time had passed” amid the chaotic situation for Gillis to have been able to turn his camera on.
Last month, Scheffler won the 2024 Masters tournament, his second victory there in three years.