American police don’t have the best reputation, and there’s no doubt that institutional racism, sexism, and homophobia run rampant throughout law enforcement in this country. Yet, the way Scottie Scheffler was treated by police recently shows that they are willing to be malicious to anyone.
Scheffler is the wealthy, white, world number one golfer: So, the complete opposite of the usual victims of unfair policing, who tend to be poor, Black men. Yet, despite his wealth and status, Scheffler was only saved from prosecution thanks to recently released footage from a camera that law enforcement didn’t know was recording.
As per USA Today, the 27 year old Scheffler was facing four separate criminal charges, the most serious of which was second degree assault on a police officer, which counts as a felony. The other three crimes were misdemeanors: Criminal mischief, disregarding signals from an officer directing traffic, and reckless driving.
Police claimed he ignored an officer’s command, then dragged the officer with his car. This all took place outside Valhalla Golf Club in Lousiville, KY, on May 17. Scheffler was playing in the PGA Championship, one of golf’s majors, and was set to tee off for his second round. The incident was described as above in the initial incident report.
The officer in question, Bryan Gillis, did not have his body camera turned on at the time of the arrest, which is against Louisville Metropolitan Police Department policy. Footage from another angle showed Gillis not being dragged by Scheffler’s car, but instead appearing to punch the vehicle while running after it. The officer is said to have been punished for his violation of policy, although what that punishment was has not been revealed.
After the arrest, Scheffler was placed in handcuffs and taken to jail. He was bailed out and able to make his tee-time for his second round, and managed to finish the tournament tied for eighth.
The golfer was due back in Kentucky in less than a week for his scheduled arraignment, which had already been pushed back after a request by his legal team. He did not appear at today’s hearing, in which Kentucky prosecutor Mike O’Connell told the judge that he’d reviewed all the evidence in the case and found that the current best golfer in the world did not commit a crime. He stated:
“Based upon the totality of the evidence, my office cannot move forward in the prosecution of the charges filed against Mr. Scheffler. Mr. Scheffler’s characterization that this was ‘a big misunderstanding’ is corroborated by the evidence.”
Not quite a hole-in-one for American law enforcement, then.