A new witness has emerged in the Scottie Scheffler saga. Perhaps unsurprisingly, his comments are casting doubt on the official police report.
By now, most readers know that Scheffler was involved in an incredible story at this past week’s PGA Championship. Scheffler is currently the world’s number-one golfer.
He was charged with second-degree assault of a police officer, third-degree criminal mischief, reckless driving, and disregarding traffic signals after trying to navigate around an officer directing traffic.
As Bounding Into Sports reported earlier today, speculation that the charges had been dropped has proven false. The Masters champion has an arraignment date of June 3rd, at 9 AM.
Scheffler has maintained that whatever happened during the altercation was little more than a “misunderstanding” of direction on how to proceed into Valhalla golf course as law enforcement was directing traffic due to a fatal pedestrian accident.
The police officer at the heart of the incident, however, has painted a more harrowing ordeal. The official police report indicates that Scheffler “refused to comply and accelerated forward, dragging Detective (Bryan) Gillis to the ground.”
The report also borders on the edge of absurdity with this concluding line: “Detective Gillis’ uniform pants, valued at approximately $80 were damaged beyond repair.”
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New Witness Account
One of the first reporters on the scene that fateful day was ESPN’s Jeff Darlington, who helped provide details to the public and even grabbed video of the arrest.
It’s now coming to light that Darlington was joined by others in the ESPN van during the incident. Others present included former U.S. Open champion Geoff Ogilvy, and play-by-play announcers Dave Fleming and Bob Wischusen.
Wischusen spoke to Golf.com in an exclusive interview and paints a somewhat different picture of the events that led to Scheffler’s arrest.
Here is video that I took of Scheffler being arrested: https://t.co/8UPZKvPCCf pic.twitter.com/9Tbp2tyrJh
— Jeff Darlington (@JeffDarlington) May 17, 2024
Wischusen’s comments seem to portray Gillis as the initial aggressor and his injuries being more due to his actions and the surrounding elements. (Perhaps legitimate behavior based on his not knowing why Sheffler was trying to get around their van.)
He describes Officer Gillis as having “kind of jumped in front” of Scheffler’s vehicle and behaving in an “enthusiastic” manner.
And as for Gillis being dragged to the ground? Wischusen had this to say:
“When [Scheffler] drove past him, the cop got very angry pursuing the car. … My impression was he was kind of running alongside chasing the car, and maybe he tripped and fell. I mean, there was kind of an outcropping or median, you know, by the front gate. And keep in mind, it was raining. It was 6 o’clock in the morning. It was dark.”
Bob Wischusen to Golf.com
Darlington had described the officer in initial reporting as having “attached himself” to the world-renowned golfer’s vehicle. When asked about that characterization, Wischusen again suggested he had tripped.
“I could see him stumble, but I did not have a very clear view of exactly how you want to categorize his contact with the car,” he said.
RELATED: Here’s What Scottie Scheffler Really Thought Of His Arrest, According To Kentucky Inmate
No Body Cam
This new information does not exonerate Scottie Scheffler from the actions alleged in the police report. But it does provide a witness account that at a minimum casts doubt on felonious assault claims.
And that could prove vital in a court case that will not have some key evidence. It has been confirmed that Gillis did not have his bodycam activated during the alleged altercation.
Scheffler is reportedly facing a 5 to 10-year prison sentence due to the second-degree assault of a police officer charge.
Wischusen, meanwhile, revealed in the Golf.com interview that he has not been contacted by authorities or legal teams from either side, something he suggests might be a sign that there could be an amicable solution to end this ordeal.
“My own speculation is that if neither side has contacted any of us, to me, that tells me that both sides are going to say this never should have happened. Let’s just all agree to let bygones be bygones,” he said. “Cooler heads prevail.”
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