Louisville PD/Getty
Detective Bryan Gillis is the Louisville, Kentucky, police officer who says he was “dragged” and injured by a car being driven by the world’s No. 1 golfer, Scottie Scheffler, outside Valhalla Golf Course on May 17.
That’s according to a citation filed against Scheffler.
On May 29, the charges against Scheffler were dropped. Jefferson County Attorney Mike O’Connell told the court that Scheffler’s
claim that it was a “big misunderstanding” was “corroborated by the evidence” and his actions “do not satisfy the elements of any criminal offenses,” ABC News reported.
The citation accuses Scheffler of second-degree assault of a police officer, third-degree criminal mischief, reckless driving and disregarding signals from officers directing traffic. It lists the witness’s name as Detective Bryan Gillis, LMPD. The citation’s narrative says that Gillis accused Scheffler of dragging him with his vehicle, causing him injuries.
In a May 23 press conference, Louisville’s Police Chief Jacquelyn Gwinn-Villaroel said that Gillis violated policy by not wearing his body-worn camera during the incident. Police released two videos that show the scene.
“Detective Gillis should have turned on his body-worn camera but did not,” the chief said. She said that failure was a violation of policy on uniforms and equipment, and Gillis was sustained for a violation of that policy.
Gillis “did not have his body-worn camera operationally ready as required by our policy,” the chief said, describing the policy as requiring that officers keep their body cameras in a constant state of operational readiness. According to Gwinn-Villaroel, Gillis was counseled by his supervisor and received corrective action that was noted on a performance form.
The Scottie Scheffler arrest video looks like a total overreaction.
The camera is across the street, but you can see Scheffler turn left into Valhalla Golf Club.
It looks like the police officer runs alongside the car, jumps on the driverside door, and then arrests him.
Crazy.
Video showed the arrest. ESPN reported that Scheffler’s arraignment has now been delayed to June 3.
🚨WILD FOOTAGE🚨
Number one golfer in the world Scottie Scheffler getting arrested by police while trying to get into the course for the PGA Championship.
It’s like arresting Tom Brady while heading into Gillette Stadium for a playoff game.
🤯🤯🤯
Scheffler was released in time to play in the second round of the PGA Championship, according to USA Today. Earlier in the morning, a pedestrian was struck and killed by a shuttle bus, USA Today reported. According to CBS Sports, the person killed was a tournament worker. His name was John Mills, CNN reported.
Scheffler’s attorney Steve Romines told Golf.com he is pleading not guilty. He told NBC that the golfer has no interest in settling the case.
“Scottie did not intentionally do anything wrong,” he told Golf.com. “He was doing exactly what they told him to do.” A journalist with the site No Laying Up wrote on X that, according to sources, prosecutors “Jefferson County prosecutors are planning, as of now, to drop the charges against Scottie Scheffler early next week.” However, the arraignment was pushed back after that report, and the charges have not been dropped at this point.
1. The Arrest Citation Accused Scottie Scheffler of Accelerating Forward, ‘Dragging Detective Gillis to the Ground’ & Causing Injuries
Bryan Gillis is the officer who arrested Scotty this morning #FreeScotty
The citation accusing Scheffler of felony assault says Detective Gillis “was directing traffic into Gate 1 of the Valhalla Golf Course due to the road being closed in both directions from an earlier fatal collision. Listed subject was driving eastbound to gain access to the course.”
The citation continues, “Subject pulled into the westbound lanes, where outbound traffic was flowing and to avoid backed up traffic. Detective Gillis was in the middle of the westbound lanes, in full LMPD uniform, and a hi-visibility yellow reflective rain jacket.”
Detective Gillis “stopped subject and attempted to give instructions. Subject refused to comply and accelerated forward, dragging Detective Gillis to the ground. Detective Gillis suffered pain, swelling, and abrasions to his left wrist and knee. He was transported to the hospital for further medical treatment by emergency medical personnel. Detective Gill’s uniform pants, valued at approximately $80 were damaged beyond repair,” the citation says.
Scheffler released a statement after he was released from jail.
“This morning, I was proceeding as directed by police officers. It was a very chaotic situation, understandably so considering the tragic accident that had occurred earlier, and there was a big misunderstanding of what I thought I was being asked to do. I never intended to disregard any of the instructions. I’m hopeful to put this to the side and focus on golf today,” Scheffler wrote in his Instagram story.
“Of course, all of us involved in the tournament express our deepest sympathies to the family of the man who passed away in the earlier accident this morning. It truly puts everything in perspective,” he wrote.
Gillis was not wearing a body camera but surveillance video may have captured part of the incident, although it hasn’t been released yet, according to WAVE4.
“In the pitch black of the morning, a very rainy morning, that’s a very dark section of Shelbyville Road as far as street lighting is concerned, I’m sure was a very confusing moment,” Councilman Anthony Piagentini told WAVE4. “People should relax, take a beat. He was able to play, which he did a great job by the way on the course, congratulations to him. We’re going to focus on the future and make sure that this doesn’t happen again but also not overreacting to what seems to be a very tragic accident.”
“I feel like my head is still spinning,” tournament favorite Scheffler told reporters after his release in time to play in the tournament, according to CNN.
“I can’t really explain what happened this morning. I did spend some time stretching in a jail cell – that was a first for me … I was just sitting there waiting and I started going through my warmup. I felt like there was a chance I may be able to still come out here and play.
“I was fortunate to be able to make it back out and play some golf today.” He said he was shaking in the jail and called the officers at the jail “tremendous,” CNN reported.
2. Detective Bryan Gillis, Who Previously Worked for the New Orleans Police Department, Owns a Collision Investigation Company
Bryan Gillis has been with the Louisville Police Department since 2007. In addition to his work with LMPD, he’s also the owner of ACIS Advanced Collision Investigation Services here in Louisville.
According to his LinkedIn page (which had been removed as of the afternoon of May 17, Gillis is the owner of “ACIS Advanced Collision Investigation Services LLC.” He has owned the company for more than six years, his LinkedIn page says.
“Reconstruct vehicle collisions and download CDR modules,” the page says. The Crash Hub lists him as a “vehicle crash expert.”
“Advanced Collision Investigation Services LLC, has been in business since 2018. The company specializes in personal injury collisions throughout the state of Kentucky and the surrounding states. The technicians and analysts are are current police officers with extensive experience,” The Crash Hub website says.
“Mr. Bryan Gillis is the owner of Advanced Collision Investigation Services, and has been working in collision investigation for over 14 years. Mr. Gillis is currently a police officer on the Louisville Metro Police Department Traffic Unit where he has investigated over 1000+ collisions, and over 200+ fatal/serious collisions. He has successfully testified in several criminal cases as a collision reconstructionist. He has received his training from OPOTA and IPTM in collision reconstruction,” it says.
Gillis also writes on LinkedIn that he has been a “traffic officer” with the Louisville Metro Police Department from September 2014 to present.
Gillis also worked as a patrol officer with the Louisville Police Department from 2007 to present.
Before that, he worked as a patrol officer with the New Orleans Police Department from 2004 to 2007. In 2022, Open Payrolls listed his police officer’s salary as just over $76,000.
On May 9, the Louisville Metro Police Department posted a traffic enforcement warning on its Facebook page. “The PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Club will tee off starting on Monday 5-13-24 with practice rounds and the event itself starts on Thursday 5-16-24 and continuing on into the weekend. Parking and traffic are important as you make your way to the venue,” the post says.
3. Bryan Gillis, Who Received a Governor’s Award for ‘Impaired Driving Enforcement,’ Was a Staff Sergeant in the U.S. Army
Louisville PDDetective Bryan Gillis
According to his LinkedIn page, Gillis was an infantry soldier in the U.S. Army. He worked as a staff sergeant in a “mechanized unit,” his LinkedIn page says, listing his service as running from 1997 through 2004.
His education was listed as a bachelor of science degree in business administration and management from the University of Phoenix, and credits in business completed through Delgado Community College.
Gillis was the recipient of the “governor’s award for impaired driving enforcement” in 2012, his LinkedIn page says. “For outstanding achievement in the apprehension of impaired drivers,” he wrote.
The department’s Facebook page posted a photo showing Gillis helping fix a baby stroller.
Gillis’ Facebook page is deleted.
Gillis’s CV says he graduated from Kickapoo High School in Springfield, Missouri.
Under current position, the CV says, “Louisville Metro Police Department Traffic Bureau since September, 2014. Assigned duties include active enforcement of state traffic laws on the interstates, safety inspections of commercial motor vehicles, and the investigation of serious and fatal collisions.”
4. Bryan Gillis Once Investigated a Case of 2 Men ‘T-Boned’ While on a Golf Cart
Louisville PDBryan Gillis.
Court TV posted a video of Gillis testifying in a case against a man named Pozo Illas in 2021. “Officer Bryan Gillis, who performed crash data retrieval and collision analysis of defendant’s vehicle, takes the stand,” the caption reads.
According to court records in that case, in 2019, two men, Chris Shultz and Brian Hovekamp, went golfing together at Seneca Golf Course in Jefferson County, Kentucky.
In order to get from the front nine to the back nine, golfers must cross Pee Wee Reese Road, a marked golf cart path, the records say. As they were crossing, their golf cart was “T-boned” by a 2006 Ford Mustang that was driven by Pozo Illas, the court records say.
The driver was severely injured but survived. Schultz, the passenger, died “due to multiple blunt force injuries,” the court records say. The suspect’s blood alcohol content was .0161, the records say.
The court records say that Gillis testified that “a crash data retrieval report from the Mustang recorded that for the 20 seconds that preceded the collision, the vehicle speed steadily remained between 50 and 60 miles per hour.”
5. An ESPN Reporter Accused Bryan Gillis of Grabbing at Scottie Scheffler’s Arm
Full details on Scottie Scheffler’s arrest, excellent reporting by @JeffDarlington.
ESPN reporter Jeff Darlington posted on X that he witnessed the incident.
“Entering Valhalla Golf Club this morning, we witnessed a car pull around us that was – Scottie Scheffler was in the car to be very clear about the details here,” Darlington said in an ESPN broadcast.
“Scottie Scheffler has been detained by police officers. placed in the back of a police vehicle in handcuffs after he tried to pull around what he believed to be security, ended up being police officers,” he said.
“They told him to stop. When he didn’t stop, the police officer attached himself to the vehicle. Scheffler then traveled another 10 yards before stopping the car,” continued Darlington. “The police officer then grabbed at his arm, attempting to pull him out of the car before Scheffler eventually opened the door. At which point the police officer pulled Scheffler out of the car. pushed him up against the car and immediately placed him in handcuffs.”
Scheffler was “walked over to the police car, placed in the back, in handcuffs. Very stunned about what was happening. Looked toward me as he was in those handcuffs and said, ‘Please help me,’” Darlington said on ESPN. “He very clearly did not know what was happening in the situation. It moved very quickly, very rapidly, very aggressively. He was detained in that police vehicle for approximately 20 minutes. The police officers at that point did not understand that Scottie Scheffler was a golfer in the tournament nor, of course, that he is the number one player in the world.”
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Louisville Officer Bryan Gillis Says He Was ‘Dragged,’ Injured by Scottie Scheffler