Charges dropped against star golfer Scottie Scheffler over traffic accident during PGA Championship | MyCentralOregon.com

(LOUISVILLE, KY) — All charges have been dropped against star golfer Scottie Scheffler, who was arrested earlier this month during the PGA Championship in Louisville, Kentucky.

Jefferson County Prosecutor Mike O’Connell addressed the court on Wednesday and requested that the charges be dismissed.

The golfer, ranked number 1 in the world, was driving near the Valhalla Golf Club on May 17 when he ignored a police officer’s traffic laws and hit him with his vehicle, according to police. He was arrested hours before his tee time for the second round of the second major of the year.

Scheffler, 27, was arrested on charges of second-degree assault on a police officer – a felony – as well as third-degree criminal damage to property, reckless driving and failure to obey traffic signals by a police officer directing traffic, police said. His arraignment was scheduled for June 3.

The arrest came about an hour after a fatal accident occurred near the golf course. At about 5 a.m., a man was fatally struck by a shuttle bus as he attempted to cross a street near the golf course hosting the PGA Championship, according to a statement from the Louisville Metro Police Department. The victim was identified as John Mills, who was a volunteer for the PGA Championship.

A police report said Scheffler refused to comply with an officer’s request to stop, but instead “accelerated forward,” knocking the officer to the ground. The officer – identified as Detective Bryan Gillis – was taken to the hospital after suffering “pain, swelling and abrasions to his left wrist and knee,” the report said.

In a police report, Gillis stated that he was directing traffic outside a gate after the accident. After PGA employees blocked a bus from entering the gate, he stated that he flagged down an approaching vehicle and advised the driver, Scheffler, that he could not proceed because of the bus.

“He demanded to be let in and proceeded to drive against my instructions,” Gillis wrote. “I was dragged/knocked to the ground by the driver. I then arrested the driver.”

Scheffler described the incident as a “major misunderstanding” and said he had “acted in accordance with police instructions.”

“It was a very chaotic situation, understandably given the tragic accident that had occurred previously, and there was a huge misunderstanding about what I was told to do,” Scheffler said in a statement on social media after his arrest. “I never intended to disobey any of the instructions.”

Scheffler’s attorney Steve Romines said in a statement to ABC affiliate station WHAS in Louisville that Scheffler was following the orders of one officer and there was a “misunderstanding” with the second officer who tried to stop him.

“In the confusion, Scottie allegedly disregarded another officer’s traffic signals, which led to these charges,” Romines said in the statement. “Multiple eyewitnesses have confirmed that he did nothing wrong, but was simply following orders. He stopped immediately when instructed and at no time did he strike an officer with his vehicle.”

There is no body camera footage of the incident between Scheffler and the officer, Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg previously told reporters. Gillis had a body camera on him but did not have it turned on, which violated police department policy, according to Louisville Metro Police Chief Jacquelyn Gwinn-Villaroel.

After an internal investigation, Gillis received a remedial action for forgetting to turn on his body-worn camera, the chief announced May 23.

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