This whole Scottie Scheffler saga with the Louisville Metro Police Department feels like it ended just as abruptly as the whole thing started.
Scheffler was arrested by the LMPD ahead of the PGA Championship after attempting to circumvent traffic being held up by a police investigation in front of Valhalla Golf Course. After one of the officers on the scene attempted to stop Scheffler, he was pulled out of his car, cuffed, and detained. Scheffler was charged and released just a few hours after being arrested.
That was just a couple of weeks ago. As of today? It’s all over. A Kentucky prosecutor for the police department has decided to drop all charges against the world’s No. 1 golfer as of Wednesday, USA Today Sports reports.
It shouldn’t come as a shock to you that this is ultimately the outcome of this incident. The writing has been on the wall for a while now.
Let’s take a look at how we got here.
Wait, so how did Scheffler end up in handcuffs?
Again, Scheffler was detained by the LMPD in the early morning hours before the PGA Championship’s second round because of a fatal traffic incident. An officer stopped him while he was trying to get around traffic and subsequently pulled him out of the car.
Darlington just said on SportsCenter that after a somewhat chaotic and confusing exchange as Scheffler tried to enter the property, Scheffler tried to continue driving into the golf course and the officer started yelling obscenities at him. Then when Scheffler rolled his window…
— Kyle Porter (@KylePorterCBS) May 17, 2024
Scheffler was charged with second-degree assault on a police officer, criminal mischief, reckless driving, and disregarding signals from an officer directing traffic. He was released a few hours after being arrested and returned to Valhalla for his 10:08 a.m. tee time.
Scottie Scheffler is on the range at Valhalla.
His tee time is 10:08 a.m. ET. pic.twitter.com/rxq4DvAxEK
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) May 17, 2024
He managed to play through the entire weekend, shooting a 13-under par on the tournament. A pretty solid outing for someone who was booked and had a mugshot taken just a few hours before play started.
READ MORE: A complete timeline of Scottie Scheffler’s arrest
Why are the charges against Scheffler being dropped?
Well, there’s a longer answer here. But to make a long story short, there seemed to be a ton of misreporting and malfeasance on the police department’s end. The department released camera footage of Scheffler’s arrest to the public, and it appeared to contradict the police report filed.
Scheffer didn’t appear to resist the officer much at all and the officer certainly didn’t appear to be dragged by Scheffler’s car.
NEW @LMPD video of Scottie Scheffler’s arrest pic.twitter.com/1g1ppwIZKL
— GOLF.com (@GOLF_com) May 23, 2024
So there’s that.
Scheffler dashcam video refutes police report
There’s more to it than that, though. Dashcam footage was also released by the department and it appeared to show Scheffler immediately stopping when the officer attempted to pull him over.
This is the dash cam view of Scottie Scheffler crawling past the coach at about 5 mph with an officer chasing him. As soon as the officer gets close to the vehicle Scottie immediately brakes. 2 minutes later he’s been arrested and you can see the reporter following the officers… pic.twitter.com/TKQ90andUv
— Flushing It (@flushingitgolf) May 23, 2024
In addition, the officer’s bodycam was also turned off during the incident. The police department later disciplined him for that, but still, it shows negligence on the officer’s part here.
Before news broke about the LMPD dropping the charges on Scheffler, another video from the car he was riding in was released showing that he had a conversation with one of the officers to explain his side of the story.
A video on Facebook since May 23 captures Scottie Scheffler's conversation in police car after arrest. "You're right, I should have stopped. I did get a little impatient because I'm quite late for my tee time." Cop says he "drug" and "hurt" officer. https://t.co/R4YtBZ2Wg3 pic.twitter.com/IosEtwj2tZ
— Alex Myers (@AlexMyers3) May 29, 2024
Scheffler told the officer he thought the person who pulled him over was a security guard and was confused after he did not identify himself. He admitted to being “a little impatient” because he was running late.
Yet Scheffler’s lawyer, Steve Romines, believes that video is evidence of the police trying to lead Scheffler into a false confession.
NEW: Scottie Scheffler's attorney issues a fiery response to the charges being dropped against Scottie Scheffler. Listen to what Romines told @NataliaWAVE3 when she asked why Scheffler originally agreed with the claim that he dragged Det. Gillis: @wave3news pic.twitter.com/TP01669eIH
— Ward Jolles (@wardjolles) May 29, 2024
All of this would’ve amounted to a headache that the LMPD didn’t seem to want.
Romines was in court for a Wednesday hearing. He maintained Scheffler’s innocence and said either the charges would be dropped or the case would continue on without Scheffler taking a plea deal, according to CNN. Either way, he was not admitting guilt.
Here we are, hours later, and the charges have been dropped. Clearly, the LMPD made its choice.
