All charges against pro-golfer Scottie Scheffler have been dropped nearly two weeks after he was arrested while attempting to drive around the scene of a deadly crash on his way to the PGA Championship in Louisville, Kentucky.
“Based upon the totality of the evidence, my office can not move forward in the prosecution of the charges filed against Mr. Scheffler,” Jefferson County Attorney Mike O'Connell said during Wednesday’s court hearing.
“Mr. Scheffler’s characterization that this was a ‘big misunderstanding’ is corroborated by the evidence. The evidence we reviewed supports the conclusion that Detective [Bryan] Gillis was concerned for public safety at the scene when he initiated contact with Mr. Scheffler. However, Mr. Scheffler’s actions and the evidence surrounding their exchange during this misunderstanding do not satisfy the elements of any criminal offenses,” the prosecutor added.
The top golfer did not attend court on Wednesday, although his attorney, Steve Romines, was present at the hearing. He told the reporters outside the courthouse that the golfer was relieved that the charges were dropped and maintained his innocence.
“The more evidence that comes out, the more it shows that Scottie was the victim here,” Mr. Romines told the media following the court hearing.
Wednesday’s decision by prosecutors to drop the charges puts an end to the debacle over his controversial May 17 arrest. The 27-year-old professional golfer was led away in handcuffs as he tried to enter the PGA Championship at the Valhalla Golf Club. Police were redirecting traffic due to a nearby fatal accident that rainy morning.
Mr. Scheffler claimed that he was simply following police directions on how to navigate through the traffic. But police claimed that he refused to comply with those directions and instead accelerated his SUV forward, “dragging” the detective to the ground, according to a police incident report.
He was charged with second-degree assault of a police officer, third-degree criminal mischief, reckless driving, and disregarding signals from officers directing traffic.
Louisville Metro Police Department (LMPD) Chief Jacquelyn Gwinn-Villaroel announced last week that the officer who was involved in the arrest violated department policy by not turning on his body camera for the interaction. The officer was disciplined but charges against the golfer still remained. LMPD has since released surveillance footage from the scene and video from a police vehicle dash camera.
“We respect the County Attorney’s decision, and we respect the judicial process. LMPD will remain focused on our mission to serve the city of Louisville and mitigate violent crime,” LMPD said in a statement to NTD News, adding that video and documents that were previously unreleased due to the judicial process will be made available to the public.
The video evidence shows the golfer tried to diffuse the situation while police tried to leverage the incident, according to his attorney. He also maintained that the officer involved in the arrest was not dragged as he claimed in the police incident report.
The pro-golfer does not want to pursue further litigation or take any type of legal action going forward even though he was “wrongfully arrested,” according to Mr. Romnies.
“There are absolutely grounds for a lawsuit. [Scottie] is absolutely not interested. He wishes to move forward in this case.”
“He’s happy it’s over, he wants to move on. He’s still the best golfer in the world,” he added.
After Mr. Scheffler was released that day, he still competed in the PGA tournament and tied for eighth place. He is set to play in the PGA Memorial Tournament in Dublin, Ohio, next week.
