LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg said there is no body camera footage from Scottie Scheffler's arrest outside Valhalla Golf Club.
On Saturday, the mayor said the officer involved, Louisville Metro Police (LMPD) Det. Bryan Gillis, either did not have the body camera footage turned on or wasn't wearing a body camera during the incident. He said at this point it's uncertain.
"The officer did not have a bodycam footage turned on during the incident. We will release footage that we have," Greenberg said. "We do not have any, to my knowledge, we have not yet discovered any video of the initial contact between officer Gillis and Mr. Scheffler."
LMPD issued a statement and said, "The statement from Mayor Greenberg is accurate. There is no body-worn camera footage of the initial encounter. The incident is under review internally and will proceed through the judicial process. We would like to restate that all parties involved are fully cooperating. LMPD is committed to a thorough investigation for all involved."
Greenberg said there is some footage across the street from a "fixed camera" where Scheffler was being arrested and that footage will be released in the "coming days."
"I will respect the legal process as that matter continues to play out. I want to thank Mr. Scheffler for his full cooperation. He's made it clear that he wants to move forward," he said. "I also want to thank LMPD for the way they handled the matter yesterday and for continuing to ensure everyone's safety at the PGA Championship and around our entire city."
LMPD's Body Worn Camera Policy, revised in December of 2022, says, "When responding to any call for service, members will activate their BWC in recording mode prior to arriving on-scene and exiting their vehicle. Members will immediately activate their BWC in recording mode prior to engaging in all law enforcement activities or encounters."
There are exceptions to the policy, such as safety concerns for an officer or when the use of a camera would create danger to public safety.
WHAS11 spoke with Practicing Attorney at Law Karl Price, who broke down LMPD's body camera policy further from a law perspective.
"In my opinion, if you're going to engage in some law enforcement activity and you have an understanding that that's your role, that's what you're going to do. For instance, [Friday] with the traffic situation, the expectation is that you would turn the camera on. The policy requires that law enforcement officers activate those cameras actually before they get out of their vehicle," he said.
Price said the point of using body camera footage is to "give more of an accurate picture of what took place during an encounter with law enforcement" and to keep the public's trust with full transparency.
“The expectation is that there are very, very limited circumstances where you find yourself in a situation where your body worn camera should not be on," Price said. "If you understand the purpose behind the policy, the purpose behind the policy is pure transparency. That’s what everyone’s expecting when you hear a law enforcement agency is going to release the body camera. Everybody expects to see everything with no gaps, no interruptions, no modifications.”
What happened?
According to a police report, an LMPD officer was directing traffic into Gate 1 of Valhalla Golf Club due to the road being closed in both directions from an earlier fatal crash involving a pedestrian and a shuttle bus at about 5 a.m.
Scheffler allegedly attempted to drive past the police officer, in a marked player's vehicle with visible credentials, to get into the club.
The police report said the officer stopped Scheffler and tried to give him instructions, but Scheffler allegedly refused to listen and accelerated forward "dragging" the officer to the ground.
LMPD said the officer suffered "pain, swelling, and abrasions" to his left wrist and knee. He was taken to the hospital for further medical treatment by EMS.
The report said the officer's $80 pants were "damaged beyond repair."
"I think the officer that was directing traffic was maybe not part of the event traffic detail and so that's where the miscommunication arose and that's why we're here," Scheffler's attorney, Steve Romines, told WHAS11.
Scheffler was detained, booked at Metro Corrections and has now since been released. He returned to Valhalla to continue playing in the tournament, arriving about 45 minutes before his 10:08 tee time.
Scheffler posted a statement to his Instagram story saying:
“This morning, I was proceeding as directed by police officers. It was a very chaotic situation, understandably so considering the tragic accident that had occurred earlier, and there was a big misunderstanding of what I thought I was being asked to do. I never intended to disregard any of the instructions. I’m hopeful to put this to the side and focus on golf today. Of course, all of us involved in the tournament express our deepest sympathies to the family of the man who passed away in the earlier accident this morning. It truly puts everything in perspective.”
He was charged with 2nd degree assault of a police officer, 3rd degree criminal mischief, reckless driving and disregarding signals from officers directing traffic. The assault charge is a felony offense.
Scheffler will be arraigned on Tuesday at 9 a.m.
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