LMPD officer in Scottie Scheffler arrest violated policy by not using body cam, chief says

The Louisville Metro Police detective whose confrontation with the world’s No. 1 golfer, Scottie Scheffler, landed Louisville in international headlines last week was "counseled" by his supervisor over his failure to use an activated body camera during the encounter, LMPD Chief Jacquelyn Gwinn-Villaroel said at a press conference Thursday.

"Detective [Bryan] Gillis should have turned on his body-worn camera but did not. His failure to do so is a violation of LMPD policy," the chief said.

In its scathing investigation of LMPD published last year, the Department of Justice criticized LMPD for failing to impose meaningful consequences for officer misconduct. The DOJ specifically mentioned how supervisors “verbally counsel” officers for failing to activate body-worn cameras instead of recommending formal discipline.

Gillis received his counseling from “a member of his command staff” on Wednesday, a memorandum released by LMPD said.

According to a “Body-Worn Camera Failure to Report Form” LMPD released on Thursday, Gillis said he “never powered up” his body camera. Supervisors reprimanded him for not having his body camera “at least in standby mode,” as is required by LMPD policy.

Scheffler was stopped early Friday morning as he tried to enter Valhalla Golf Club to compete in the PGA Championship.

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According to an arrest citation, Scheffler was driving eastbound in a marked PGA player vehicle toward Gate 1 when he pulled into a westbound lane, "where outbound traffic was flowing," to bypass the backup caused by an earlier fatal collision.

Gillis was "in the middle of the westbound lanes, in full uniform and a hi-visibility yellow reflective rain jacket," when he stopped Scheffler and "attempted to give instructions," the citation said.

LMPD alleged Scheffler "refused to comply and accelerated forward, dragging Detective Gillis to the ground. Detective Gillis suffered pain, swelling and abrasions to his left wrist and knee."

In two videos released on Thursday — one from an LMPD vehicle dash camera and one from a “fixed pole camera” across the street — the interaction described in the citation cannot be seen.

In the video from across the street, parked buses obscure much of the field of view, but a vehicle can be seen slowly turning into Valhalla’s gate as a police officer in a reflective yellow jacket runs to catch up with the car.

Greenberg said no other video from the incident — or other evidence —  would be released until the conclusion of the legal process.

ESPN reporter Jeff Darlington witnessed Scheffler’s arrest outside Valhalla Golf Club. On Friday, the reporter said an LMPD officer "attached himself" to the side of the vehicle. Scheffler continued to drive about 15 yards before stopping” before the officer “hit Scheffler’s car with a flashlight.”

Darlington added the officer “pulled Scheffler out of the car, put him up against the car, and immediately into handcuffs.”

Scheffler, who has since called the incident a "big misunderstanding," and competed in the tournament later that day, is charged with second-degree assault of a police officer — a felony that carries years of prison time — as well as third-degree criminal mischief, reckless driving and disregarding signals from an officer directing traffic.

In a statement on Thursday afternoon, Scheffler’s attorney, Steve Romines, said: “Our position remains the same as it was last Friday. I am not negotiating, as we have no interest in settling. I am prepared to litigate as needed and the case will be dismissed, or we will go to trial because Scottie did absolutely nothing wrong.”

In a statement, Jefferson County Attorney's Office spokesman Josh Abner said his office "has continued to receive evidence and has yet to conduct final interviews with investigators regarding the charges filed by LMPD against Mr. Scheffler."

He added: "As we have stated previously, no decisions have been made and our review continues."

Scheffler's arraignment is scheduled for June 3. 

Shortly after the press conference, LMPD publicly released a number of documents associated with the department’s internal investigation.

In a report, Gillis wrote he was requested to respond to the fatal collision and began directing traffic in front of Valhalla Gate 1. While directing traffic, Gillis said he saw a vehicle “traveling in the opposing lanes coming at me.”

Gillis wrote that he stopped the driver, later identified as Scheffler, and told him he could not move forward. The golfer “demanded to be let in,” Gillis wrote in the form, and proceeded to move forward. Gillis was then “dragged/knocked down” during the encounter. He then proceeded to arrest Scheffler.

Gillis admitted in the document that he “never powered up (his) BWC.”

Jeremy Allen, listed as Gillis’ immediate supervisor, said in the report that Gillis should have had the camera powered on “and at least in standby mode,” in accordance with LMPD policy. Allen added that due to the confusion in the area at the time and Gillis’ sense of urgency in responding to the fatal collision, the officer failed to comply with protocol.

In the report, Division Commander Jill Bates wrote body camera equipment should be “maintained in a constant state of readiness,” as per protocol.

“While it was initially a chaotic situation enough time had passed to at least have it in standby mode,” she wrote.

Though LMPD policy requires officers to activate their body cameras “prior to engaging in all law enforcement activities and encounters,” Gillis did not have recorded footage of the confrontation.

Officers are excused from activating their devices only if their assigned camera is “docked for uploading following a tour of duty.”

If an officer finds themselves “involved in a sudden and unanticipated incident where exigent safety concerns prevent the immediate activation of” their body camera, they are to activate it “at the first opportunity, when it is safe to do so, in order to capture the immediate aftermath of the situation.”

Responding to a question from The Courier Journal at a press conference on Tuesday, Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg said he had “questions” about why there was no body-camera footage of the encounter available, particularly of the arrest itself.

Neither Gwinn-Villaroel nor Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg took any questions at Thursday morning's press conference on the high-profile arrest.

At the press conference, an LMPD spokesperson requested all questions be emailed to the department.

In response to a question from The Courier Journal about whether LMPD was investigating Gillis' history of body camera use, an LMPD spokesperson said they were not aware of any such probe.

LMPD did not immediately respond to numerous other questions emailed by The Courier Journal.

On Saturday, the Associated Press reported that a Greenberg spokesperson told the wire service LMPD officers directing traffic don’t usually record video with their body cameras.

Asked about that at a press conference on Tuesday, Greenberg told The Courier Journal that LMPD would address the question. LMPD did not respond to an email on Tuesday seeking clarification of their body camera policy, nor did the chief clarify the policy at Thursday’s press conference.

At the Louisville Metro Council Budget Committee meeting Wednesday night, Gwinn-Villaroel was pressed on the frequency that officers use body-worn cameras.

Tammy Hawkins, the council member who represents District 1 and the chair of the public safety committee, said $302,000 was allocated in the fiscal year 2024 budget for “Law Enforcement Camera Equipment.”

“Any equipment that taxpayer dollars are being utilized for — it has to be utilized, or what are we buying it for? A body cam, any of that,” Hawkins said. “We should never hear, ‘Well, the body cam was not on.’ We should never hear that. That’s what we purchase those items for.”

Gwinn-Villaroel called the failure to activate an officer’s body-worn camera a “notable infraction” and said a series of potential changes — such as additional training or posting signs in precincts telling officers “don’t forget” to activate — could be implemented to ensure use of the equipment.

Reach reporter Josh Wood at jwood@courier-journal.com or on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @JWoodJourno. Reach reporter Rachel Smith at rksmith@courierjournal.com or on X, formerly known as Twitter at @RachelSmithNews. Metro Government reporter Eleanor McCrary contributed reporting.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: LMPD officer in Scottie Scheffler arrest violated body camera policy