LOUISVILLE, Ky. — All charges against professional golfer Scottie Scheffler have been dismissed. 

Jefferson County Attorney Mike O’Connell and Scheffler’s attorney, Steve Romines, appeared in Jefferson County District Court and agreed to have the charges dropped. 

Scheffler was arrested at Valhalla Golf Club on May 17 after a separate incident in which a shuttle bus hit and killed vendor John Mills, who was crossing Shelbyville Road in Louisville. He was charged with assaulting a police officer, criminal mischief, reckless driving and disregarding traffic officers.

Jefferson County Attorney Mike O’Connell stands outside of the courthouse after announcing he was dismissing all charges against pro golfer Scottie Scheffler from an incident outside of Valhalla Golf Club on May 17, 2024. (Spectrum News 1/Mason Brighton)

In a statement to the court, O’Connell gave more details of the events leading up to Scheffler’s arrest. He said LMPD was trying to coordinate traffic after the fatal accident. A bus was turning around and all cars were stopped from entering the golf course. Scheffler was trying to enter the course at the same time. O’Connell said this is when the interaction between Scheffler and the officer happened.

O’Connell said he and his office have reviewed the evidence and interviewed officers and other witnesses before deciding to dismiss the charges.

In court, he said, “The evidence reviewed supports the conclusion that Detective Gillis was concerned for public safety at the scene when he initiated contact with Mr. Scheffler. However, Mr. Scheffler’s action and the evidence surrounding their exchange during the misunderstanding do not satisfy the elements of any criminal offenses.”

The case was dismissed with prejudice, which means the case is permanently over.

LMPD detective Bryan Gillis was the officer who arrested Scheffler. He didn’t turn on his body camera when he encountered Scheffler and arrested the golfer. Police Chief Jacquelyn Gwinn-Villarroel said failure to engage the body camera violated LMPD policy and said Gillis was counseled by his supervisor but then added, “We understand the seriousness of the failure to capture this interaction, which is why our officer has received corrective action for this policy violation.”

Gwinn-Villarroel did not say what corrective action was taken against Gillis, only that it was written up and placed in his personnel file and that it was “in line with our disciplinary protocol and practices.”

Scottie Scheffler’s attorney, Steve Romines, speaks with reporters after he and Jefferson County Attorney Mike O’Connell dropped all charges against the pro golfer. (Spectrum News 1/Scott Neumann)

Scheffler wasn’t in court, but Romines spoke to the media after the dismissal. Romines said he and Scheffler were prepared to move forward with the case if it wasn’t dismissed.

Romines said, “There are absolutely grounds for a lawsuit, he [Scheffler] doesn’t want to be involved because who pays? The taxpayers. Scottie Scheffler doesn’t want the taxpayers of Lousiville to have to pay him a dime. He wishes to move forward from this case.”

Romines told reporters his client didn’t know about the fatal accident and was just trying to get to the course. He said, “Scottie Scheffler. You cannot find one person to say a bad word about him when he’s in the police car after being arrested. He was still a perfect gentleman. It is remarkable the restraint and character he evidenced [sic] not only during the incident, after the incident, as he’s being taken downtown and in the press conference that day. We need more Scottie Scheffler’s in the world.”

Scheffler’s record will be expunged within 60 days.