What Louisville police report and Scottie Scheffler say about Friday arrest
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Scottie Scheffler was arrested early Friday and charged with a second-degree assault of a police officer following an incident at the entrance to Valhalla Golf Club, which is hosting this week’s PGA Championship.
According to the incident report that was released by Louisville Metro Police Department, Scheffler arrived at the course at 6:16 a.m. ET but the main thoroughfare leading into the venue, Shelbyville Road, was closed because of a “fatal collision” earlier in the morning.
“[Scheffler] pulled into the westbound lanes where outbound traffic was flowing and to avoid backed up traffic,” the report read.
Scottie Scheffler press conference transcript, discussing his Friday arrest and his 66 at the PGA
Scheffler discussed details of his Friday arrest and the 66 he shot after being released from jail.
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Scheffler was stopped by an officer who attempted to give him instructions but the world No. 1 “refused to comply and accelerated forward.” The report said the officer, detective Bryan Gillis, was dragged “to the ground” and “suffered pain, swelling and abrasions to his left wrist and knee.” Gillis was taken to a local hospital for treatment.
In a statement posted on social media, Scheffler said he was “proceeding as directed by police” and “there was a big misunderstanding.”
“I never intended to disregard any of the instructions [from officers],” Scheffler said in the statement.
According to ESPN’s Jeff Darlington, who witnessed the incident just past the entrance to Valhalla, “the police officer attempted to attach himself to Scheffler’s car, and Scheffler then stopped his vehicle at the entrance to Valhalla. The police officer then began to scream at Scheffler to get out of the car.
“When Scheffler exited the vehicle, the officer shoved Scheffler against the car and immediately placed him in handcuffs.”
Scheffler was charged with second-degree assault of a police officer, which is a felony; third-degree criminal mischief; reckless driving and disregarding signals from officers. He was released at 8:48 a.m.
Second-round play was delayed more than an hour after a vendor who was working at the championship, identified as John Mills, was hit and killed by a bus outside the golf course. Scheffler was not involved in the accident.
"Our primary concern today remains with the family of John Mills, who lost his life in a tragic accident early this morning while reporting to work," the PGA of America said in a statement Friday afternoon. "As it relates to the incident involving Scottie Scheffler, we are fully cooperating as local authorities review what took place. While the legal process plays out, questions should to be directed to Scheffler’s attorney or local authorities."
According to a police official, Scheffler will be arraigned in the next day or two but he does not have to be present for that hearing. His attorney, Steven Romines, told ESPN that the golfer was unaware of the road closure and “he proceeded like they'd been instructed to. He did exactly as he was instructed to enter the premises.”
Scheffler arrived back at Valhalla Golf Club at 9:12 a.m. and teed off for Round 2 at 10:08 a.m. following an abbreviated warmup.
“When I was sitting in like the holding cell or whatever, there was a TV there and I could see myself on the TV on ESPN. In the corner it showed the time and it said [tee times] were delayed and I was kind of thinking about my tee time, I was like, well, maybe I could be able to get out,” Scheffler said following his round. “The officers downstairs were discussing how long it was going to take me to get released. Obviously we have to go through all the due process and everything. I started to stretch a little bit once I got my heart rate down a little bit.”
Scheffler shot 5-under 66 and was tied for third when he completed his round, two shots off the lead held by Collin Morikawa.
Although he declined to go into details about the incident with the Louisville police officer, Scheffler said once the round started he was able to focus on golf.
“It was nice to be able to get inside the ropes and do what I love to do. I love competing out here, I love playing in major championships,” he said. “I've kept myself in the tournament now with a pretty chaotic day, so I'm going to go from here and focus on getting some rest and recovery and get ready for a grind the last two days.”
