In the video, which has been on Facebook since May 23, Scheffler is seen and heard having a conversation from the back of a police car with an officer. The World No. 1 golfer is polite and respectful throughout the three-minute clip, and maintains he was unaware that the man asking him to stop as he pulled into Valhalla Golf Club on the morning of May 17 was a police officer.
According to Scheffler, that’s why he didn’t stop his car initially, and why he was hesitant to get out of his vehicle after stopping.
“Sir, believe me, if I knew he was a police officer, I would have gotten out of the car,” Scheffler says in the clip, the source of which hasn’t been verified by Golf Digest.
“As you can see, I’m still shaking,” Scheffler continues. “I was afraid. I did not know who he was. He didn’t say ‘Police! Get out of the car!’ He just hit me with his flashlight and yelled ‘Get out of the car!'”
Scheffler also says the arresting officer, who was later identified as Detective Bryan Gillis, grabbed his shoulder, hit him and “seemed to be a little over aggressive because the entrance was open.”
Scheffler’s arrival at Valhalla ahead of his Friday second-round tee time at the PGA Championship was affected by an earlier shuttle-bus accident that killed a man working for a PGA vendor.
The officer in the video says that Gillis’ yellow jacket should have made Scheffler aware that he was law enforcement, even in the dark and rainy conditions. He also tells Scheffler that he “drug” Gillis with his car.
“You actually hurt him,” the officer says in the clip. “And he’s a police officer. He’s got a huge scrape on his knee. He’s getting checked by EMS, big bruise.”
Have a look and listen at the video, which shifts to a Louisville city council meeting at about the 4:00 mark:
Scheffler was arrested, booked on four charges, including a second-degree felony assault of an officer, and released later that morning. The reigning Masters champ made it to his Friday tee time and shot 66, but faded on Saturday and finished T-8.
On May 23, the Louisville mayor and police chief announced Detective Gillis had been disciplined for a policy violation because he didn’t activate his body cam during the arrest, but that charges against Scheffler remain. That day, Louisville PD also released two videos, but neither showed Scheffler’s conversation with a cop in the immediate aftermath of the arrest.
Scheffler’s arraignment was delayed until June 3. However, Mike O’Connell from the Jefferson County Attorney’s office is expected to speak at a hearing in court on Wednesday.
