Nearly two weeks have passed since Scottie Scheffler was arrested before the second round of the 2024 PGA Championship. The golfer was charged with a felony second-degree assault of a police officer, among several other charges. On Wednesday, new video of the arrest came to light.
The video contains audio of Schefter in a police car after he was arrested by Louisville Metro Police. It was posted to Facebook by Maxwell Mitchell, who lists himself as the founder of an organization called Flipping The Seen as well as the CEO and Founder of Maxwellsounds, described as a music social network. It is unclear how the video was obtained but the speaker is undoubtedly Scheffler, who is captured explaining his side of what happened in front of Valhalla Golf Club that allegedly led to the police officer’s injuries and his arrest.
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
“I had to loop all the way around that way, took me about probably a half hour,” Schefter can be heard saying as the video begins. “So I’m pulling in here, the police officer up there told me to come the opposite way with the traffic and then come in. As I was pulling in, my window was down, and the officer told me to stop. First of all, I did not know he was a police officer, I thought he was one of the security guards that was mistaken.”
At this point Scheffler was interrupted by the individual he was speaking to, presumably another police officer, and asked why it would matter if it were a officer or a security guard asking him to stop.
“Yes, you’re right, I should have stopped. I did get a little impatient because I’m quite late for my tee time. As he was reaching in the car, he grabbed my shoulder and hit me.”
The man speaking to Scheffler clarified that the officer grabbed him to get him to stop, which the golfer confirms.
“It seemed to be a little bit overaggressive because the entrance was open. I pulled away because I was afraid he was going to start hitting me. I didn’t know who he was, he didn’t tell me he was a police officer, all I saw was the yellow jacket.”
Scheffler was then interrupted by the officer he was speaking to, who explained that Scheffler had dragged the officer in question with his car. He told Scheffler that he “made matters worse” by refusing to exit his vehicle after the officer told him to.
“I still was not aware he was a police officer. I was actually looking out the window of the car to try to find a police officer,” he said. “If I knew he was a police officer I would have been much more or less afraid. But the panic kind of set in, as you can see I’m still shaking because I was afraid. I didn’t know who he was. He didn’t say, ‘Police, get out of the car,’ he just hit me with his flashlight and yelled, ‘Get out of the car.’
“Believe me, if I knew he was a police officer I would have gotten out of the car. I don’t know what to tell you other than I was a little bit panicked trying to get into the golf course and now I don’t know what to do.”
In the final seconds of the video, the officer can be heard admonishing further Scheffler for not stopping and failing to recognize that yellow vests indicate police officers.
After the arrest it was revealed that the arresting officer did not have his bodycam on, so footage of the incident has been few and far between. While the LMPD stated the officer received “corrective action” for violating policy by not turning on his bodycam, they are moving forward with the legal proceedings. In a statement, Scheffler’s attorney asserted his client did “nothing wrong” and they have no interest in settling the case.
Scheffler’s arraignment is set for June 3. Additionally, there is a hearing for the case on Wednesday at 1 p.m. ET.
