Stephanie Kuzydym,Josh Wood,Rachel SmithLouisville Courier Journal
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Body camera footage showing the world's No. 1 golfer sitting in the back of a Louisville Metro Police Department vehicle was leaked following his May 17 arrest.
Louisville Mayor's Office Communications Director Scottie Ellis confirmed the authenticity of the video, which was widely circulated online, telling The Courier Journal: "It is unfortunate and very concerning that an individual leaked information that should have remained confidential until the completion of the investigation."
While the footage is grainy, the audio is of a nearly three-minute conversation between an unnamed LMPD officer and Scottie Scheffler.
Scheffler's charges were dismissed Wednesday, with Jefferson County Attorney Mike O'Connell saying the golfer's characterization of the incident as a misunderstanding was "corroborated by the evidence" that his office found.
At a press conference after the dismissal, Scheffler's attorney, Steve Romines, said the leaked footage depicted Scheffler "being interrogated after the most stressful situation of his life."
"The officer is actually asking him leading questions and trying to get him to agree with him," Romines said. "And that's why you don't talk to the police, because they are going to try to put words in your mouth. That's exactly what they did."
More: Charges dropped against Scottie Scheffler following Louisville arrest
The video starts with Scheffler being read his Miranda rights.
"With those rights in mind do you want to talk to me about what happened?" the LMPD officer said.
"Please, please," Scheffler said.
The PGA golfer begins to describe his interaction with LMPD detective Bryan Gillis.
"As I was pulling in, my window was down and as the officer told me to stop and as I was ― first of all I did not know he was a police officer," Scheffler said. "I thought he was one of the security guards ..."
The officer responded: "Stop right there. Why does that matter if he's a security guard or a police officer if somebody's telling you to stop?"
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"Yes," Scheffler said. "You're right. I should have stopped. I did get a bit impatient because I'm quite late for my tee time and as he was reaching in the car, he grabbed my shoulder and hit me ―"
Scheffler tells the LMPD officer he feels Gillis' actions were "a little bit overaggressive."
"I pulled a little bit because I was afraid he was going to start hitting me," Scheffler said. "And I didn't know who he was. He didn't tell me he was a police officer. All I saw was a yellow jacket. I didn't know what he was doing. I had no idea he was a police officer."
From there, the conversation turns to the yellow vests the police officers were wearing and why the professional golfer didn't stop.
Full recap: What to know about Scottie Scheffler's arrest at PGA Championship in Louisville thus far
"If someone's telling you to stop, no matter who it is, you don't keep going," the officer said.
"Yes sir," Scheffler responded.
In a longer version of the video posted online by Louisville livestreamer Maxwell Mitchell on May 23, Scheffler is read his Miranda rights ahead of the conversation. The video posted by Mitchell appears to be a recording of a video playing on a second device.
No attorney appears to be present.
Scheffler was arrested May 17 as he made his way to Valhalla Golf Club for the second round of the PGA Championship.
The Courier Journal also contacted LMPD to confirm the video's authenticity and did not receive a response.
According to an arrest citation, Scheffler was driving eastbound in a marked PGA player vehicle toward Gate 1 when he pulled into a westbound lane, "where outbound traffic was flowing," to bypass the backup caused byan earlier fatal collision.
Gillis was "in the middle of the westbound lanes, in full uniform and a hi-visibility yellow reflective rain jacket," when he stopped Scheffler and "attempted to give instructions," the citation said.
LMPD alleged Scheffler "refused to comply and accelerated forward, dragging Detective Gillis to the ground. Detective Gillis suffered pain, swelling and abrasions to his left wrist and knee."
Scheffler was charged with second-degree assault against a police officer — a felony that can carry between five and ten years in prison, if convicted — as well as third-degree criminal mischief, reckless driving and disregarding signals from a traffic officer.
In the video, the LMPD officer tells Scheffler he injured a police officer.
"Is he ok?" Scheffler said.
"He’s got a huge scrape on his knee," the LMPD officer said. "He’s being checked by EMS. Big bruise. So I don’t know. I don’t know. But for you right now, the main question is if you’re going to jail and it’s up to him. I don’t know."
"Am I able to speak with him?" Scheffler said.
"No, not at this time," the LMPD officer said.
The audio of the leaked interaction ends.
After his arrest went public, Scheffler released a statement recounting the events of May 17:
"This morning, I was proceeding as directed by police officers. It was a very chaotic situation, understandably so considering the tragic accident that had occurred earlier, and there was a big misunderstanding of what I thought I was being asked to do," he wrote. "I never intended to disregard any of the instructions. I'm hopeful to put this to the side and focus on golf today."
More: Scottie Scheffler got out of jail in 72 minutes. Did he receive special treatment?
On May 23, LMPD Chief Jacquelyn Gwinn-Villaroel announced Gillis had been "counseled" over his failure to use a body camera during Scheffler's arrest.
At that same press conference, Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg said there was no video footage that captured the initial interaction between Scheffler and Gillis, but released video footage from a pole-camera across the street and a dash camera from an LMPD vehicle. All other video, the mayor said, would not be released until after the conclusion of the legal process.
Stephanie Kuzydym is an enterprise and investigative reporter. Reach her atskuzydym@courier-journal.com.Reach reporter Josh Wood at jwood@courier-journal.com or on X, formerly known as Twitter, at@JWoodJourno. Reach reporter Rachel Smith atrksmith@courierjournal.com or on X, formerly known as Twitter, at@RachelSmithNews.
