Charges against Scottie Scheffler dropped by Kentucky Court

All charges against Scottie Scheffler in Louisville, Kentucky, have been dropped.

Most people think this was an overdue decision, although there are probably some who believe otherwise.

The entire situation was aggravated by what had been a fairly horrific morning in which a vendor for the PGA Championship was killed by a large bus. The vendor was crossing the main road, which intersected with the club entrance, and it was dark.   

Jefferson County (Louisville) Attorney Mike O'Connell requested charges to be dismissed with prejudice, meaning that they can’t be brought against Scheffler again in the future.

"Based upon the totality of the evidence, my office cannot move forward in the prosecution of the charges filed against Mr. Scheffler," O'Connell said in a story posted on ESPN.com. "Mr. Scheffler's characterization that this was a 'big misunderstanding' is corroborated by the evidence.”

O’Connell did not castigate the arresting officer and said that the officer was “concerned for public safety“ at the time of the incident.

However, O’Connell added, as reported on ESPN.com, “Mr. Scheffler's actions and the evidence surrounding their exchange during this misunderstanding do not satisfy the elements of any criminal offenses."

Steve Romines, Scheffler’s attorney, said to reporters after the court procedure that versions of the incident reported by bystanders and witnesses who were there, did not indicate that the officer was dragged by Scheffler’s car, which the officer had alleged.

A complicating factor was that the police officer making the arrest did not turn on his body cam that morning.  

The Scheffler arrest took place before sunrise on the morning of May 17th at the main entrance to Valhalla Golf Club which was the site of this year’s PGA Championship. Scheffler was playing in the event and was preparing for the second round. He was trying to enter the club grounds.

Scheffler was charged, driven to jail, put in an orange jumpsuit, then released less than two hours before his second-round tee time. He then faced four charges, including felony second-degree assault of a police officer.

While the arresting officer insisted that he had been dragged by Scheffler’s car, the lack of body cam footage and the reports from witnesses on the scene contradicted that. Scheffler said he had done what players had been directed to do. That he had shown his credentials and turned into the club driveway, which he had done previously that week. This was Friday, and he had entered the club on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday with no complications or issues. 

In an ESPN video it is possible to see a person in a yellow raincoat chasing Scheffler’s car and then what looked like hitting the car.

About 30 seconds into the clip, that person reached inside the car, and finally pushed half his body into the car window before somehow opening the door and getting help to remove Scheffler from the vehicle. The vehicle was a tournament courtesy car that was likely marked with the tournament logo as they most often are. The tournament markings were blocked by a bus in the video.

The actions of the police stopped Scheffler’s chance to win a second major in a row. That halted his chance at the Grand Slam. He had already won four tournaments in the year, including the Masters. The PGA was the second major in the year, and Scheffler had been playing well.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the court proceeding lasted approximately seven minutes.