LOUISVILLE, Ky. — All charges against professional golfer Scottie Scheffler have been dismissed.
Jefferson County Attorney Mike O’Connell and Scheffler’s attorney, Steve Romines, appeared in Jefferson County District Court and agreed to have the charges dropped.
Scheffler was arrested at Valhalla Golf Club on May 17 after a separate incident in which a shuttle bus hit and killed vendor John Mills, who was crossing Shelbyville Road in Louisville. He was charged with assaulting a police officer, criminal mischief, reckless driving and disregarding traffic officers.
In a statement to the court, O’Connell gave more details of the events leading up to Scheffler’s arrest. He said the Louisville Metro Police Department was trying to coordinate traffic after the fatal accident. A bus was turning around and all cars were stopped from entering the golf course. Scheffler was trying to enter the course at the same time. O’Connell said this is when the interaction between Scheffler and the officer happened.
O’Connell said he and his office have reviewed the evidence and interviewed officers and other witnesses before deciding to dismiss the charges.
In court, he said, “The evidence reviewed supports the conclusion that Detective Gillis was concerned for public safety at the scene when he initiated contact with Mr. Scheffler. However, Mr. Scheffler’s action and the evidence surrounding their exchange during the misunderstanding do not satisfy the elements of any criminal offenses.”
The case was dismissed with prejudice, which means the case is permanently over.
LMPD detective Bryan Gillis was the officer who arrested Scheffler. He didn’t turn on his body camera when he encountered Scheffler and arrested the golfer. Police Chief Jacquelyn Gwinn-Villarroel said failure to engage the body camera violated LMPD policy and said Gillis was counseled by his supervisor but then added, “We understand the seriousness of the failure to capture this interaction, which is why our officer has received corrective action for this policy violation.”
Gwinn-Villarroel did not say what corrective action was taken against Gillis, only that it was written up and placed in his personnel file and that it was “in line with our disciplinary protocol and practices.”
Scheffler wasn't in court, but Romines spoke to the media after the dismissal. Romines said he and Scheffler were prepared to move forward with the case if it wasn't dismissed.
Scheffler posted a statement to his Instagram account that said, "I hold no ill will toward Officer Gillis. I wish to put this incident behind me and move on, and I hope he will do the same." The pro golfer added that his thoughts and prayers were with Mills and his family.
Romines said, "There are absolutely grounds for a lawsuit, he [Scheffler] doesn't want to be involved because who pays? The taxpayers. Scottie Scheffler doesn't want the taxpayers of Lousiville to have to pay him a dime. He wishes to move forward from this case."
Romines told reporters his client didn't know about the fatal accident and was just trying to get to the course. He said, "Scottie Scheffler. You cannot find one person to say a bad word about him when he's in the police car after being arrested. He was still a perfect gentleman. It is remarkable the restraint and character he evidenced [sic] not only during the incident, after the incident, as he's being taken downtown and in the press conference that day. We need more Scottie Scheffler's in the world."
Gillis said in a statement he and Scheffler agreed there will be no ill will moving forward; however, he was disappointed with Romines' claim describing the event as a "false arrest."
"I'd be surprised and disappointed if Mr. Scheffler actually had any part in making those statements," Gillis said. "To be clear, I was drug by the car, I went to the ground and I received visible injuries to my knees and wrist. I'm going to recover from it, and it will be OK."
"This is the extent of my commentary on the incident. The reality is that there are more important things in the world right now than a back-and-forth over this. A person lost his life that day, and a family lost a loved one."
After the charges were dropped, LMPD released a statement on social media, saying the department respects the county attorney’s decision and the judicial process. It also said more evidence from the incident would be made public. “Videos and documents which were previously unreleased due to the judicial process will be made available, after appropriate redactions are made, via Louisville Metro Government’s online portal.” The post shared a link to the city’s open records request portal.
Scheffler's record will be expunged within 60 days.
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