Louisville cop who arrested Scottie Scheffler speaks out after charges dropped

Golf

By Christian Arnold

Det. Bryan Gillis is ready to put the incident involving golf star Scottie Scheffler behind him, but not before he took umbrage with comments made by Scheffler’s lawyer, Steve Romines, after charges in the case were dropped. 

Gillis, who arrested Scheffler outside Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville before day two of the PGA Championship earlier this month, maintained, in a statement released Wednesday, that he did in fact get “drug by the car” and “received visible injuries” to the knees and wrist, but also expressed appreciation to Scheffler for his “dignity, humility and respect” during the situation. 

“Mr. Scheffler and I both agree that there will be no ill will over this going forward,” Gillis wrote. “Instead of giving a negative public reaction, he chose to speak with dignity, humility and respect. My family and I appreciate that.”

Nevertheless, the officer did take aim at the comments made by Romines that Gillis felt questioned his integrity. 

Romines had suggested during a press conference following the dismissal of charges against Scheffler that he felt the world’s top golfer could file a lawsuit after being “falsely arrested.” 

“It was unfortunate and disturbing to hear Steve Romines’ commentary today-claiming a ‘false arrest’ was made and for him to challenge my honesty and integrity,” Gillis wrote in his statement. “I’d be surprised and disappointed if Mr. Scheffler actually had any part in making those statements.

“To be clear, I was drug by the car, I went to the ground, and I received visible injuries to my knees and wrist. I’m going to recover from it, and it will be ok.”

Gillis also addressed the expensive cost of the pants that the Louisville Metro Police Department requires their officers to buy. 

“PS…,” Gillis continued. “Yes, the department has us buying freaking $80 pants. To those concerned, they were indeed ruined. But Scottie, it’s all good. I never would’ve guessed I’d have the most famous pair of pants in the country for a few weeks because of this. Take care and be safe.”

Scheffler was facing four charges from the incident, with the most severe one being a felony second-degree assault of a police officer. 

The charges were officially dropped on Wednesday by Jefferson County Attorney Mike O’Connell. 

Scheffler had been arrested outside the second day of the PGA Championship after there had been confusion over the traffic flow while police investigated the scene where a vendor working at the PGA Championship was struck and killed by a shuttle bus. 

In a statement of his own, Scheffler echoed that there would be no ill will toward Gillis. 

“I wish to put this incident behind me and move on, and I hope he will do the same. Police officers have a difficult job and I hold them in high regard. This was a severe miscommunication in a chaotic situation,” Scheffler wrote.