LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The morning of May 18, three Louisville Metro Police officers violated department policy when none of them turned on their body cameras when professional golfer Scottie Scheffler was being arrested. This in new information released in a 63-page report on Friday.
Scheffler was charged with refusing to stop and dragging an officer—charges that were dismissed—on his way to the PGA Championship.
Detectives Bryan GIllis, Kelvin Watkins and Officer Javar Downs didn’t turn their body cameras on during the arrest. Gillis, the officer who arrested Scheffler, was counseled for his actions and Watkins and Downs had to fill out “Failure to Activate” forms.
The view of the initial interaction between Scheffler and Gillis is obstructed in footage captured by an LMPD pole camera. It eventually shows Scheffler’s SUV, Gillis chasing after it and Scheffler’s arrest.
Gillis did not turn on his body camera until after the arrest, which he has since been disciplined for. Once he turned on his camera, he can be heard talking about the injuries he says he suffered from being dragged by Scheffler’s car.
“I’m pissed. My pants are ripped. I have this scrape on my knee and wrist,” Gillis says to another officer.
LMPD also provided pictures, including of Gillis’ much-discussed ripped pants.
Gillis goes on in the body cam footage to describe the incident to other officers.
“It’s like he went around everyone else. We already have a line of them trying to come in, and he decided…”
“Were you recording?” another officer asks him.
“No, I was not at the time. I wasn’t expecting to be run over.” Gillis replies.
He later says of Scheffler, “He goes, ‘I want to go.’ My hands on him, I’m like, ‘no you’re not.’ He goes, ‘I’m gonna go,’ and he floors it.”
Gillis can also be heard interacting with Scheffler after the arrest.
“Are you the one that I dragged?” Scheffler asks Gillis.
“Yes.”
“I’m sorry,” Scheffler replies.
“I mean, you hurt my wrist, my ankle, my knee and I ripped my pants. I’m directing traffic. It says police on me,” Gillis says back to Scheffler.
In the report LMPD released, Lt. Craig Browning wrote:
“Not a violation of policy, but tactically poor decision making by Det. Gillis regarding reaching into a vehicle that is running, is in drive, and the operator has the ability to pull away/accelerate. Whether Gillis grabbed Mr. Scheffler’s arm, or Mr. Scheffler ‘pinned’ Gillis’s arm with his knee is immaterial had Gillis not crossed the plain into the vehicle’s passenger compartment.”
In a follow up, Browning writes Gillis “acted poorly by adding layers of risk to what amounted to a misunderstanding of a traffic violation.”
He also writes Scheffler, “also shares responsibility in the event.”
Scheffler has said he was prepared to sue LMPD before his charges were dropped.