Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg admitted Saturday that no body camera footage exists of the hectic scene that led to the arrest of top-ranked golfer Scottie Scheffler ahead of the second round of the PGA Championship. . According to WDRB.
Hours before the scheduled start time, Scheffler was arrested after what he later called a “very chaotic scene” and a “major misunderstanding” with the Louisville Metro Police Department. Brian Gillis is accused of refusing to obey traffic laws near the entrance to Valhalla Golf Club, where the fatal crash occurred early Friday morning.
Greenberg said Gillis was either not wearing a body camera or it was not activated.
“The officer did not have his body camera footage on during the incident. We will release the footage we have,” Greenberg said. “To my knowledge…there was nothing. No video of Officer Gillis’ initial contact with Mr. Scheffler has been discovered.”
The mayor added that there is footage of the incident taken from a fixed camera across the street and should be released soon.
Mr. Scheffler was taken into custody around 7:30 a.m. Friday and was charged with second-degree assault on a police officer, third-degree criminal mischief, reckless driving and running a red light.
The two-time Masters champion was eventually released and returned to the golf club to tee off just after 10 a.m.
Scheffler shot a 5-under 66 to reach 9 under par and was just three strokes behind leader Xander Schauffele by the start of Saturday’s match.
“This morning, I was acting at the direction of a police officer,” Scheffler said in a statement Friday. “As expected given the tragic accident that had occurred earlier, it was a very chaotic situation and I was acting at the direction of a police officer. I had no intention of ignoring the instructions.
Schauffele shared his thoughts. Regarding events after the second round.
“First of all, a fatal accident is definitely the worst thing that could happen. I’m sure Scotty would agree with that,” he said at a press conference Friday. “For anyone passing near a golf tournament, that’s something that should never happen. First of all. And when I saw Scotty’s mugshot, I felt like it was some kind of prank or something.
“I know Scotty very well. We’re similar builds and have been playing golf for several years, but I know he’s a solid guy and didn’t have any ill will towards anyone. So I hope he gets out of there unscathed. But Scotty is a good guy, so I hope he’s okay.”
As a result of the incident, Gillis suffered swelling to his left knee and wrist and was taken to hospital.
Scheffler is scheduled to appear in Jefferson District Court on May 21.
