In this handout photo provided by the Louisville Department of Corrections, Scottie Scheffler is seen in a police booking photo after being arrested for refusing to stop at a traffic barricade trying to get into Valhalla Golf Course on May 17, 2024, in Louisville, Kentucky. | Source: Handout / Getty
From now on, when Black people have to hear from white people that the unarmed Black man who was killed by a police officer for not immediately following the cop’s orders should have simply complied, we can point them to the curious case of pro-golfer Scottie Scheffler. We can point out that one doesn’t really need to comply, one just needs to be a famous person with places to be, and it probably doesn’t hurt to be, you know, white. In fact, if Scheffler’s story is any indication, one can not only get away with not complying with a cop’s orders, but they can drag the cop with their cars and still be told by a prosecutor, judge and said cop that they did nothing wrong, and will even have the cop basically apologizing to them for the inconvenience and making jokes about incident.
When it comes to Black people, especially those who aren’t publicly known, cops tend to just shoot them dead the second they accelerate their vehicles against their orders.
Earlier this month, Scheffler was arrested in Louisville during the PGA Championship over a confrontation with a police officer directing traffic after a pedestrian had been killed. According to the officer, Scheffler “refused to comply and accelerated forward, dragging” the officer to the ground. Scheffler had been charged with a felony for assaulting a police officer with his vehicle, along with three misdemeanors, but now all of those charges have been dropped because even the prosecutor agrees that it was all a big misunderstanding.
“Based upon the totality of the evidence, my office cannot move forward in the prosecution of the charges filed against Mr. Scheffler,” said Jefferson County Attorney Mike O’Connell, who asked a judge Wednesday to drop the four charges against Scheffler, who was not even in the courtroom at the time as it was not required, according to the Associated Press.
Let’s take a quick look at what happened that day, according to the authorities.
From AP:
The arresting officer, Detective Bryan Gillis, was outside the gate of Valhalla Golf Course directing traffic after a pedestrian death when he encountered Scheffler.
Scheffler was not aware there had been a pedestrian death, and several PGA-marked vehicles like Scheffler’s were able to enter the course without a problem, O’Connell said. But a passenger bus attempting to enter was halted and told to turn around. Gillis was on the scene stopping vehicles so the bus would have room to pivot, and Scheffler’s car was among the first to reach the point where Gillis was stopping traffic, O’Connell said.
Gillis said in a police report that Scheffler then “refused to comply and accelerated forward, dragging” Gillis to the ground. Gillis said his uniform pants were damaged in the fall and he was taken to the hospital for his injuries.
A surveillance video released by Louisville police last week showed Gillis pursuing Scheffler’s vehicle on foot and stopping him from entering the course. Scheffler is later pulled from the car and cuffed. But the video did not show Gillis’ first contact with Scheffler, authorities said.
Here’s a question: Why exactly does it matter that Scheffler (allegedly) didn’t know a pedestrian had died, or that he saw other PGA vehicles get let through? Since when does a cop’s requirement that a civilian follow all orders immediately carry so many caveats? According to Gillis, he told Scheffler to stop, Scheffler didn’t stop, and he ended up getting taken to the ground by Scheffler’s car after he “refused to comply.” So, where’s the misunderstanding? The cop said stop, Scheffler refused, the cop got injured as a result, and Scheffler was arrested without being injured or killed—and now all of his charges are dropped.
Gillis, who was reportedly disciplined for not activating his bodycam during the arrest, said in his report that Scheffler had “demanded to be let in” the golf course. Instead, he was jailed briefly then allowed to return to the course for the second round and to finish the tournament. All I’m saying is Cops would have been a really boring show if Black people got the Scottie Scheffler treatment.
Scheffler’s attorney, Steve Romines, denied that Gillis was ever dragged from his client’s car and that he made a “false arrest.” Gillis took issue with that.
“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 a statement, according to WAVE 3. “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.”
So, obviously, Gillis must be pretty salty that all Scheffler’s charges were dismissed, right? Well, no.
“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.”
Gillis also wrote that “there are more important things in the world right now than a back-and-forth over this,” and that he wishes “Scottie Scheffler and his family all the best.” Then he had a big laugh about the whole thing.
“PS,” he wrote. “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.”
And, of course, you’ll all be happy to know that Scheffler also wants to let bygones be bygones too.
“As I stated previously, this was an unfortunate misunderstanding,” Scheffler wrote. “I hold no ill will toward Officer 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.”
Think of all the unarmed Black people whose lives could have been spared if they only had the forethought to say it was all just a misunderstanding.
Wait—that’s still how that works, right?
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