Scottie Scheffler was arrested ahead of his second round at the PGA Championship; Scheffler ended the week tied-eighth as Xander Schauffele claimed maiden major title at Valhalla; world No 1's arraignment has been pushed back to Monday June 3
Thursday 23 May 2024 17:34, UK
Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg has announced Scottie Scheffler's charges are not being dropped, with the intention to "let the legal process play out", while police officials added detective Bryan Gillis has received "corrective action" for a policy violation.
Scheffler was arrested by Louisville Metro Police on Friday morning after trying to drive into Valhalla Golf Club in heavy traffic caused by an earlier - unrelated - accident, events he described as "a big misunderstanding" following "a very chaotic situation".
The 27-year-old was taken away by police in handcuffs before being released in time to return for the second round, with Scheffler facing charges of second-degree assault of a police officer, third-degree criminal mischief, reckless driving, and disregarding traffic signals from an officer directing traffic.
Speaking on Thursday, Mayor Greenberg confirmed no charges have been dropped, with police officials adding detective Gillis has received "corrective action" for his failure to turn on his body camera at the time of the incident, which was a violation of LMPD policy.
"Detective Gillis should have turned on his body-worn camera but did not," Police Chief Jacquelyn Gwinn-Villaroel said. "His failure to do so is a violation of LMPD policy on uniforms and equipment.
"Detective Gillis was counselled by his supervisor. We understand the seriousness of the failure to capture this interaction, which is why our officer has received corrective action for this policy violation."
"We are all looking to move forward," Mayor Greenberg said. "But we have to respect the legal process. And that's what we are going to do. We are going to let that play out."
Speaking after the press conference, Scheffler's lawyer Steve Romines reiterated his belief that his client had "done nothing wrong" and is prepared to go to trial if the charge of assaulting a police officer is not dropped.
"We're prepared to litigate the case if we need to, if we don't need to, fine," Romines said. "It will either be dismissed or it will go to trial."
Scheffler's arraignment date has been pushed back to Monday June 3 following his arrest during the PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Club. He was originally supposed to be arraigned on Tuesday May 21 at 9am ET (2pm BST) but the date was changed on Monday.
In a statement on Monday, Jefferson County Attorney Mike O'Connell said: "Today, over the objection of Jefferson County Attorney Mike O'Connell, the District Judge presiding in the case of Mr Scheffler granted the defendant's attorney's motion to continue Mr Scheffler's arraignment from May 21 to June 3 at 9am.
"Our office continues to gather information in the case."
His lawyer said over the weekend they would be prepared to go trial if the charge of assaulting a police officer was not dropped, insisting Scheffler "didn't do anything wrong". All charges still appear on the docket for the new date.
Scheffler went into the week as pre-tournament favourite after following his victory at The Masters by winning the RBC Heritage, his fourth PGA Tour win in five starts, with the American returning to action after skipping the Wells Fargo Championship for the birth of his first child.
He followed a four-under 67 on the opening day with a second-round 66 on Friday, despite being arrested earlier in the day and only arriving back at the course less than an hour before his delayed tee time.
Play was delayed for 80 minutes on Friday after a fatal accident saw a pedestrian - later named as on-site vendor John Mills - struck by a shuttle bus shortly after 5am local time, while Scheffler was detained around an hour later as he attempted to drive around the scene.
Scheffler was taken away to Louisville Metropolitan Department of Corrections and a mugshot of him quickly appeared on social media in an orange jumpsuit, with the American booked in at 7.28am before being released at 8.40am.
He was released on his own recognizance and driven to the course for his second round, originally due to begin at 8.48am but pushed back until 10.08am because of delays, with Scheffler arriving at 9.12am and having a limited practice session ahead of his tee time.
Scheffler's troubles switched from off course to on it on Saturday, where he was without regular caddie Ted Scott due to him attending his daughter's graduation, as he dropped four shots in a three-hole stretch during a two-over 73 - his first over-par round of the year.
The 10-time PGA Tour winner bounced back on Sunday to card a six-under 65 and end the week tied-eighth, eight strokes behind Xander Schauffele, with Scheffler proud of his finish after a "hectic" few days.
"On the course I have always been proud of my toughness out there," Scheffler told CBS. "I try to keep the off course as quiet as possible and this week was obviously not that way, but I'm proud of the way we competed and posted a decent finish running on fumes."
Watch Scheffler in action throughout 2024 on the PGA Tour live on Sky Sports. Early coverage of the Charles Schwab Challenge begins on Thursday from 5pm on Sky Sports Golf. Stream the PGA Tour, DP World Tour, majors and more with NOW.
Get the best prices and book a round at one of 1,700 courses across the UK & Ireland
