World No. 1 golfer Scottie Scheffler said he holds “no ill will” toward the cop who arrested him and hopes he can put the snafu behind him after charges were dropped on Wednesday.
At a 1 p.m. hearing in Kentucky on Wednesday, Jefferson County Prosecuting Attorney Mike O’Connell said that the evidence presented against Scheffler did not satisfy the elements of a criminal offense, the Lexington Herald-Leader reported.
A judge agreed to drop charges and said they would be expunged after Scheffler was sensationally arrested and jailed for ignoring police orders not to drive through the scene of a fatal crash outside the PGA Championships earlier this month.
ADVERTISEMENT
In a post on his Instagram Story on Wednesday, Scheffler also expressed his regards for John Mills, the man who died in the fatal crash that officers were attending to.
In a press conference shortly after charges were dropped, Scheffler’s attorney, Steve Romines, said, “Every person, whether you’re the best golfer in the world, or just going to watch the tournament, you are one encounter with a police officer going sideways—even if you do nothing wrong—from being charged with a plethora of crimes.”
Scheffler was arrested on May 17 on a felony charge of assault of a police officer as well as misdemeanor criminal mischief, misdemeanor reckless driving and misdemeanor disregarding traffic signals following an incident at the Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky.
He was accused of failing to obey orders to stop as he drove through the crash scene on his way to warm up ahead of his tee time. An officer then allegedly tried to grab Scheffler from his car and hit him with his flashlight. Scheffler then drove off, allegedly injuring the cop.
WAVE 3 News reporter Ward Jolles, who first reported Wednesday that charges would be dropped, cited a source close to the case as saying, “It is best to proceed without the charges going forward. Both want things resolved amicably.”
New body-camera footage of the incident emerged on Wednesday posted to Facebook by a local broadcaster, in which Scheffler claimed that he did not know the officer who grabbed him was a cop because he was wearing a yellow vest. Scheffler said this was the reason he drove off.
