Prosecutors dropped criminal charges against Scotty Scheffler on Wednesday, less than two weeks after he was named the world’s best golfer. busy Outside the PGA Championship in Louisville, Kentucky.
Jefferson County District Attorney Mike O’Connell told the judge his office could not move forward with charges evidence And he moved to dismiss the case.
Scheffler was charged with second-degree assault on a police officer, third-degree criminal mischief, reckless driving and disregarding the signals of officers directing traffic when he was pulled over near Louisville’s Valhalla Golf Club, which was hosting the tournament.
After the charges were dropped, Scheffler said on the social network That he bore no ill will toward the detective who arrested him.
“I want to put this incident behind me and move on, and I hope he does the same,” Scheffler said. “Police officers have a difficult job and I have the utmost respect for them. This was a serious miscommunication in a chaotic situation.”
Scheffler’s attorney denied that the golfer assaulted anyone. After the incident, Scheffler said it was a “huge misunderstanding” in a statement, saying he “never intended to ignore any instruction.”
O’Connell said Wednesday that evidence supported Scheffler’s characterization of the incident as a misunderstanding between him and a detective.
“Mr. Scheffler’s actions and the evidence exchanged during this misunderstanding do not meet the elements of any criminal offense,” O’Connell said in court.
Scheffler did not attend Wednesday’s hearing. After the trial, Scheffler’s attorney, Steve Romains, said his client is prepared to file a lawsuit against the Louisville Police Department if prosecutors proceed with the criminal case next week.
“He doesn’t want to do it,” Romines told reporters. “He wants to move.”
Romines said not going to trial was not part of the plea deal. He said Scheffler didn’t want to collect taxpayer money for what happened.
“He doesn’t want the taxpayers of Louisville to pay for what happened,” Romines said. “Also, litigation is a distraction for anyone, and the truly historic season he’s having right now, getting involved in litigation would be a distraction.”
According to police, Scheffler was on his way to the golf course on May 17 to prepare for his second round when he drove into traffic from a shuttle bus that fatally struck a pedestrian. As Scheffler tried to maneuver around the scene, police said he refused to follow instructions and moved forward, dragging the detective to the spot.
The detective did not have his body camera activated when the incident unfolded, which violated police procedures, officials said last week.
Video footage from a pole camera and a police camera shows Scheffler being led to a police car.
