Thuggish Louisville police officers arrested Scottie Scheffler, the world’s top ranked golfer, as he was attempting to enter the Valhalla Golf Club for the second round of the PGA Championship due to a misunderstanding of the situation that had previously occurred at the entrance to the facility.
We make mistakes. Misunderstandings arise. “To err is human; to forgive, divine” Alexander Pope stated in his 1711 poem An Essay on Criticism, Part II. Humans for the most part accept this truism and cut each other a little slack as they go about their daily lives. It is this ability to shrug off trivial slights that denotes the divide between barbarism and civilized society. We may allow our inner anger to get the best of us at times and shake our fist at the person who just cut us off in traffic, or worse, let them know in no uncertain terms with other gestures that we are displeased by their actions, but we don’t generally attempt further retribution to assuage our anger.
Scottie Scheffler is the world’s top ranked golfer, having twice won the Masters Tournament and is now vying for the PGA Championship this week at the Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, KY. As such, Mr. Scheffler is used to a certain level of fame and the special treatment afforded one in those facilities in which he practices his sport. Mr. Scheffler, along with the other golfers participating in the PGA Championship, were given special instructions for entering the Valhalla Golf Club along with credentials identifying them as event participants and specially marked vehicles to afford them the least amount of trouble entering the facility. All indications are that Mr. Scheffler was complying with the instructions he had been provided by PGA Tour and Valhalla Golf Club officials as he arrived Friday morning for the second round of the PGA Championship event.
Unbeknownst to Mr. Scheffler, a tragic traffic accident had occurred prior to his arrival that claimed the life of John Mills, a vendor who was making his way on foot to the facility for work that day when he was struck by a vehicle and killed. Louisville police were working the accident scene when Mr. Scheffler arrived in a vehicle displaying PGA Championship markings. Mr. Scheffler assumed police were there for traffic control and proceeded along the designated lane towards the facility entrance waving his credentials when Detective Bryan Gillis, a 20-year veteran of the LMPD shouted at him to stop. When Scheffler failed to stop, Detective Gillis attempted to grab the vehicle Mr. Scheffler was driving only to be dragged to the ground whereupon he suffered minor injuries involving scrapes and bruises.
It should be noted that Mr. Scheffler was following the orders of another Louisville police officer who had directed him into the lane in which he was driving. It is not clear if that police officer had informed Mr. Scheffler that an accident had occurred as Mr. Scheffler appeared to be confused as to why he was directed to stop and why he was being arrested. From the way in which the events unfolded, it is also unlikely that the officer radioed to his fellow officers that Mr. Scheffler was approaching. It is possible that Mr. Scheffler’s confusion stemmed from the reaction he received despite following the instructions of the officer whom he had just encountered.
ESPN reporter Jeff Darlington was at the scene awaiting the arrival of the golfers and recorded footage of Mr. Scheffler’s arrest as he witnessed the entire episode. At one point, Mr. Scheffler, who was in handcuffs and being led away, turned to Darlington to ask if he could intervene as he appeared confused by the entire episode. As Darlington reported the situation, “Scheffler was then 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’s footage captured a Louisville police officer gruffly demanding that he, Mr. Darlington, back away immediately or he would be arrested, then stating “he’s going to jail and they ain’t nothing you can do about it.” Darlington later reported that this officer approached him afterwards to ask who the man was that they had just arrested.
Mr. Scheffler was booked into the Louisville Metropolitan Department of Corrections on four charges of felony assault of a police officer, criminal mischief, reckless driving, and disregard for signals from an officer. Mr. Scheffler’s attorney, Steve Romines, “Over-charging, yeah, it’s very typical in every case. It gives more leverage in a possible resolution of the case.” Romines managed to get Mr. Scheffler bonded out in time to make his tee time for the second round of the PGA Championship where he shot a five-under 66 that kept him near the top of the leader board.
Tour players were stunned at this turn of events with Louisville’s reputation as a delightful place to host sporting events in taters as the face of professional golf was led off in handcuffs over a simple misunderstanding arising from multiple miscommunications. Romines went on to say “(Scheffler) is the nicest guy there is. That’s the one thing about this that makes it absurd. He is genuinely one of the nicest guys out there.”
Let’s look at the facts. Mr. Scheffler followed the instructions he had been provided by PGA Tour officials, Valhalla Golf Club officials, and the Louisville police officer he encountered upon arriving at the scene. Mr. Scheffler was used to entering Tour events where police routinely directed traffic due to the large crowds of spectators. Mr. Scheffler likely had no knowledge that a fatal traffic accident had occurred prior to his arrival. Mr. Scheffler displayed no indication of privileged behavior, no intention of assaulting a police officer, and immediately cooperated once he realized he had been asked to stop. Detective Gillis reached out to grab a moving vehicle, which led to his injuries. Louisville police directed reporter Jeff Darlington to back away or face arrest as they controlled media exposure to Mr. Scheffler’s arrest.
There was absolutely no justification for Mr. Scheffler’s arrest, and the entire episode could have been resolved if Detective Gillis had taken the time to speak with Mr. Scheffler whereupon he would have learned that Mr. Scheffler was following the directions he had been given, including those of a fellow police officer, and was unaware that a traffic accident had occurred. Detective Gillis might then have been able to deduce that Mr. Scheffler, as a professional golfer, would be naturally susceptible to making such a mistake since he was no doubt used to police directing traffic at major PGA Tour events.
Instead, Mr. Scheffler got police officers used to getting their way by threatening to arrest anyone who might dare challenge their authority as he innocently wandered into a situation that he didn’t fully understand. Mr. Darlington also experienced the thuggish behavior of these officers as he was threatened with arrest for daring to ask Mr. Scheffler for a comment and asking police officers why Mr. Scheffler was being arrested.
It is precisely this type of thuggish behavior which those in minority communities have complained about for decades. It is also why minority communities instantly rush to the defense of thuggish minorities who are killed attempting criminal acts against police as whites are left confused trying to understand why minorities would defend such criminals. Minorities are used to police treating them with disdain and refusing to engage them in a conversation that might resolve a situation. When a minority with a long criminal record lashes out in a criminal act such as Trayvon Martin assaulting George Zimmerman or Michael Brown assaulting Ferguson, MO Officer Darren Wilson, minority communities naturally assume some thuggish cop was hassling them for no reason when things got out of control leading to their death.
If police departments are ever going to successfully counter the perception in minority communities that police are there to hassle them for merely being black, then police are going to have to weed out from their ranks those officers who routinely display thuggish behavior and expect their departments and fellow officers to merely cover it up. I would expect that minority communities would start pointing at Mr. Scheffler’s arrest as an example of the type of behavior they encounter from police on a daily basis.
This is a two-way street, and minority communities are going to have to be willing to work with police departments first by being cooperative during encounters with police and second by pointing out to police departments those officers that do not act in a professional manner. Police departments then must take concrete steps to punish those officers who mar the reputations of their departments through their unprofessional actions. Police officers proudly declare that they are there to protect and serve, but the actions of many of their officers do not live up to those aspirations.
America got a good look at unprofessional police behavior because a professional golfer, and not some ordinary citizen, was arrested while a reporter happened to be at the scene capturing the episode as it unfolded. This episode rightfully brings shame on the police department of Louisville. This was no back alley encounter with unknown suspects; this was a professional golfer in a marked SUV with credentials who misunderstood the situation. There was absolutely no reason for Louisville police to drag Mr. Scheffler from his vehicle, handcuff him, drag him to jail, dress him in orange, book him, and take his mugshot. They could have opted to professionally question him to ascertain his identity and motives, which would have led them to the conclusion that he had misunderstood the situation.
Independent Conservative 