Scottie Scheffler arrest: LMPD releases new video, documents

In newly released body camera footage, the world's No. 1 golfer, Scottie Scheffler, acknowledged he "dragged" Louisville Metro Police Detective Bryan Gillis leading up to his high-profile May 17 arrest, but he consistently denied knowing Gillis was a police officer and said he continued driving because he was "afraid" after Gillis reached into his vehicle and grabbed his arm.

"He did tell me to stop, but as I went by him, he grabbed my arm and I was afraid," Scheffler told officers as he was being detained and handcuffed. "I couldn't tell he was a police officer. I'm sorry."

The new footage and an Administrative Incident Report were released Friday, three weeks after Scheffler's arrest captured international attention and more than a week after all charges against him were dropped.

The video and report shed more light on what took place during the chaotic early morning incident, including photos of Gillis' apparent injuries and forms showing three officers involved in the arrest failed to activate their body cameras.

In the new video, Scheffler told an LMPD officer he drove forward because he thought Gillis was "going to start hitting me, and I didn't know who he was. He didn't tell me he was a police officer."

According to the incident report, a supervisor said Gillis made a "tactically poor decision" by "reaching into a vehicle that is running, is in drive, and the operator has the ability to pull away/accelerate."

Another supervisor said given the charges at the time were "only traffic offenses," Gillis "acted poorly by adding layers of risk to what amounted to a misunderstanding over a traffic violation."

Gillis was verbally counseled "regarding risk versus reward in response to this incident," according to the investigation, though it is not labeled as a policy violation.

At one point after the encounter, Gillis walked over to a police vehicle where Scheffler was detained.

"Are you the one that I dragged? I'm sorry," Scheffler said.

None of the body camera footage captures Gillis' initial encounter with Scheffler.

While multiple officers, including Gillis, were wearing body camera equipment at the time, at least three separate cameras, including Gillis', were not activated in accordance with LMPD policy.

Scheffler was arrested May 17 outside Valhalla Golf Club during the PGA Championship in Louisville. According to an arrest citation, the famous golfer ignored directions from Gillis while trying to bypass a traffic jam caused by an earlier fatal collision on Shelbyville Road.

In that citation, police said Scheffler "accelerated forward, dragging Gillis to the ground" during the encounter, causing Gillis to suffer "pain, swelling and abrasions to his left wrist and knee" while damaging Gillis' pants "beyond repair."

A released photo of the pants, valued at $80 according to the arrest citation, show a noticeable rip in the fabric of a back panel. Photos also show small abrasions on Gillis' left wrist and on his left leg below the knee.

Scheffler was charged with second-degree assault of a police officer — a felony that carries between five and ten years in prison, if convicted — as well as third-degree criminal mischief, reckless driving and disregarding signals from an officer directing traffic.

Those charges were dropped on May 29, following a motion to dismiss from Jefferson County Attorney Mike O'Connell.

"Mr. Scheffler's characterization that this was 'a big misunderstanding' is corroborated by the evidence," O'Connell said at the time.

What new video shows of Scottie Scheffler arrest

Scheffler repeatedly apologized to police in the body camera footage released on Friday.

"I'm terribly sorry. I'm just trying to get to my tee time. I'm shaking," he told police as he was being handcuffed after exiting his courtesy player vehicle.

Later, Scheffler said: "I cannot emphasize enough that I should have stopped, but I was not aware he was a police officer. And when he started grabbing me, that's when I got really afraid. And so I pulled forward, but I had no intent to try to hurt him or anything. I thought he would let go of my arm. Gosh, these cuffs hurt."

Scheffler also said Gillis hit his vehicle with a "flashlight thing."

While Gillis did not initially have his body camera turned on, he activated it at points following his encounter with Scheffler.

While speaking to other LMPD officers, Gillis said after he tried to stop Scheffler, “He goes ‘I’m going to go’ and he floors it. ... He straight up told me he was going to go.”

Three LMPD officers fail to activate body cameras

In addition to Gillis, two other officers at the scene of Scottie Scheffler’s high-profile arrest did not activate their body camera equipment, which both would have recorded Scheffler’s arrest, according to the report released Friday.

Kelvin Watkins and Javar Downs, LMPD officers assigned to the department’s traffic unit, admitted they had not activated their body-worn cameras in separate failure to record forms.

In his report, Watkins wrote the footage would have shown Gillis arresting Scheffler, as Watkins walked up to the two while Gillis was instructing Scheffler to exit his vehicle. Watkins added Scheffler asked him if he was a police officer, and after he confirmed he was, the professional golfer opened his car door and was arrested.

A released photo of Gillis taken near the scene after the confrontation shows him in a yellow cautionary jacket, with "LMPD TRAFFIC" written on the back. No writing on the front of the jacket denotes Gillis as a member of LMPD. As seen in the photo, his jacket is half-zipped with a police badge partly visible.

In Downs’ report, he said his missing footage would have also captured Scheffler being removed from his car and placed into custody.

LMPD policy requires officers to activate their body cameras “prior to engaging in all law enforcement activities and encounters" and 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.”

While most of the LMPD supervisors listed in the report criticized Downs and Watkins for failing to activate their camera equipment and thereby violating policy, Downs' immediate supervisor, Robert Ward, wrote he did not have time to activate his equipment due to the "rapidly deteriorating situation" and his duty to provide quick assistance.

Gillis has since been "counseled" by his supervisor over his failure to use an activated body camera during the encounter. However, none of the records recently released by LMPD note whether Watkins or Downs received any punishment or additional reprimand.

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

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Scottie Scheffler arrest: LMPD releases new bodycam videos, documents