The police arrest report for Scottie Scheffler, the world’s number one golfer, states that a detective was pulled, hospitalised and his $80 trousers were “damaged beyond repair.” Scheffler was detained early Friday morning after attempting to evade traffic outside the Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky. The 27-year-old Masters winner was due to participate in the PGA Championships’ second round, and claimed that he mistaken cops managing traffic as gate security for the Valhalla company.
Police were actually investigating a fatal accident after a male employee was killed by a shuttle bus near the golf course.
According to the arrest report, Louisville Metro police detective Bryan Gillis was directing traffic into Valhalla when he allegedly saw Scheffler pull out to bypass other vehicles.
According to the report, Detective Gillis was in the middle of the westbound lanes wearing his full LMPD uniform and a high-visibility yellow luminous rain jacket. “Detective Gillis halted the subject and attempted to offer instructions. The subject refused to comply and surged forward, dragging Detective Gillis to the ground.
Mr Gillis was injured during the attempted stop, and his $80 uniform trousers were ruined, according to the report. “Detective Gillis experienced pain, swelling, and abrasions on his left wrist and knees. He was taken to the hospital for further medical treatment by emergency personnel. “Detective Gillis’ uniform trousers, valued at approximately $80 were damaged beyond repair.”
Here is the police report from the arrest of Scottie Scheffler this morning:
Detective Gillis was directing traffic into Gate 1 of the Valhalla Golf Course due to the road being closed in both directions from an earlier fatal collision.
Listed subject was driving eastbound to… pic.twitter.com/T6QdFHsehV
— John Nucci (@JNucci23) May 17, 2024
As police led him away, Scheffler appears to recognize ESPN’s Jeff Darlington as a reporter and asks him for help.
Police told Mr Darlington to back off, saying there was nothing he could do and that Scheffler was “going to jail”.
Scheffler is facing a felony charge for second-degree assault of a police officer, and charges of third-degree criminal mischief, reckless driving, and disregarding traffic signals from an officer directing traffic.
A Class C felony carries a recommended prison sentence of five to 10 years. In addition to jail time, Scheffler could be fined between $1,000 and $10,000 if he is found guilty.
Scheffler was booked at the Louisville Metro Department of Corrections, where he was held for just under three hours until he was released on personal recognisanse by Judge Sarah Nicholson just before 9am local time, WAVE reports.
His tee time was pushed back to 10 a.m. owing to his arrest, but he began the second round of the championship. At 2.45pm, Scheffler was fourth, trailing a three-way tie for first. Scheffler’s attorney, Steve Romines, told CNN that his client will plead not guilty to the accusations.
The lawyer said there was a “miscommunication” between the Louisville police and Scheffler, WHAS11 reports.
“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,” Mr Romines said.
He said that golfers participating in the PGA Championship had been given credentials allowing them to access Valhalla, and that several already had passed by police before the entrance was closed due to the crash investigation.
“They are allowed to go through, that’s why they have the credentials, it’s their way through,” Mr Romines said. “Unaware that there had been a wreck, [Scheffler] proceeded like they’d been instructed to.”
The attorney said that he and Scheffler plan to cooperate fully with the police. “We’ll just litigate this case as it comes. Scottie will cooperate fully, and we’ll just deal with it as it progresses,” he added.