LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The incident that led to the arrest last week of the top golfer in the world, Scottie Scheffler, is under internal review, Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg confirmed Monday.
Scheffler was arrested in a bizarre incident Friday morning as he attempted to gain access to Valhalla Golf Club following an unrelated fatal crash. On Saturday, Mayor Craig Greenberg said the officer who arrested Scheffler did not activate his body camera, therefore no footage of the initial contact exists.
Many have raised questions about potential violations of department policy.
"[Police Chief Jacquelyn Gwinn-Villaroel] and LMPD are going to investigate this incident," Greenberg said Monday after speaking at an event at Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport. "If there are violations of policies that took place, they will be very clear with that and we will deal with that appropriately. LMPD is currently investigating that."
LMPD Det. Bryan Gillis arrested Scheffler and an arrest citation claimed the two-time Masters champion disobeyed orders to stop his vehicle, resulting in Gillis being dragged to the ground. Scheffler was charged with felony 2nd degree assault of a police officer; 3rd degree criminal mischief, reckless driving and disregarding signals from officers directing traffic.
Greenberg said Gillis was at Valhalla assisting with traffic flow following the death of a man who was hit by a bus while crossing the road near the entrance.
"He was then assisting with traffic and did not turn his body camera on during the initial contact with Mr. Sheffler, so there is no body camera footage." Greenberg said. "There is footage from a camera across the street. We will be releasing that footage."
Scheffler and his attorney called the incident a "misunderstanding" and plan to fight the charges if they are not dropped. As of 1 p.m. Monday, the Jefferson County Prosecutor's Office had not dropped any charges.
Greenberg deferred to the police chief Monday when asked whether an officer should have activated their body camera in that situation.
"We had a wonderful PGA Championship weekend in Louisville," Greenberg said. "Our city truly came together following the tragic loss of Mr. Mills on Friday. Our city shined. The crowd shined. I'm so thankful for the PGA and Valhalla ownership."
Louisville attorney Karl Price told WHAS11 policy states all LMPD officers should activate their body camera when they engage in any "law enforcement activity." There are some exceptions, including when the safety of the officer could be jeopardized.
The policy states: "Members will immediately activate their BWC in recording mode prior to engaging in all law enforcement activities or encounters."
"The policy requires law enforcement officers to activate those cameras actually before they get out of their vehicle," Price said.
69-year-old John Mills, of Crestwood, was hit by the bus while attempting to cross Shelbyville Road about 5 a.m. He was working security for the tournament.
Greenberg said he didn't know why Mills was trying to cross the street, but said it "certainly was not part of the plan for people to be crossing." Greenberg said the traffic plan last week was "successful."
Scheffler is scheduled for arraignment Tuesday.
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