Louisville police confirmed Saturday night that the body camera of a police officer who was allegedly “dragged to the ground” by a vehicle driven by golfer Scottie Scheffler was not in operation during a Friday morning incident.
A spokesman for the Louisville Metro Police Department confirmed what the city’s mayor said earlier in the day.
“There is no body-worn camera footage of the initial encounter,” the police spokesman said in a statement to ESPN. “The incident is under review internally and will proceed through the judicial process. We would like to restate that all parties involved are fully cooperating. LMPD is committed to a thorough investigation for all involved.”
Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg said earlier Saturday that officer Bryan Gillis either was not wearing a body camera or it was not in operating mode when he was involved in an incident with Scheffler, the top-ranked player in the world. The situation unfolded as Scheffler was arriving for the second round of the PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Club.
“The officer did not have body cam footage turned on during the incident,” Greenberg said, according to the Louisville Courier Journal. “We will release footage that we have … to my knowledge, we have not yet discovered any video of the initial contact between Officer Gillis and Mr. Scheffler.”
Scheffler was arrested in the pre-dawn hours Friday, shortly after arriving at the golf course, and charged with felony assault of a police officer. He also was charged with third-degree criminal mischief, reckless driving and disregarding signals from officers directing traffic.
Louisville attorney Steve Romines, hired Friday to represent Scheffler, told the newspaper that the golfer “didn’t do anything wrong.”
“He was following the instructions of another traffic control officer and trying to get into the facility to warm up and work out,” Romines said.
Scheffler was released from custody after being booked at the Louisville Metro Department of Corrections, after his mug was shot taken while wearing an orange jail-issued jumpsuit. He was released in time to make his tee time, which was pushed back by 80 minutes for all players because of the traffic jam that resulted from the accident.
He shot a 5-under 66 on Friday and sits at 7-under par for the tournament after a 73 on Saturday.
An arraignment is scheduled for Tuesday at 9 a.m. ET.
According to Louisville Metro Police Department policy, officers must have their body cameras in operation “in all law enforcement activities or encounters.” Gillis was directing traffic when the incident occurred, in full police uniform and also wearing a “high-visibility yellow reflective rain jacket.”
–Field Level Media
