In a surprisingly lengthy statement, Detective Bryan Gillis stuck by his story over what happened during the altercation with PGA golfer Scottie Scheffler.
Gillis was the arresting officer when Scheffler, trying to navigate around traffic as he was running late to prepare for his tee time before the second round of the PGA Championship earlier this month, was detained.
Officer Gillis filed a report claiming Scheffler dragged him to the ground while he was trying to provide instruction for the golfer regarding a traffic tie-up following a fatal pedestrian accident.
But the evidence according to Jefferson County Attorney Mike O’Connell “corroborated” claims from the Masters champ that the incident was simply a “misunderstanding.”
As such, the charges, including a felony second-degree assault of a police officer, were dropped on Wednesday.
Gillis respectfully began his statement by taking a moment to reflect on the pedestrian killed in the accident.
“This was a chaotic situation for everybody involved,” he said. “Ensuring the safety of everyone in the vicinity was my utmost priority.”
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Police Officer In Scottie Scheffler Case Speaks Out
At this stage of the statement, there is nothing much to contradict. It is a shame that the incident overshadowed the life of the deceased. And, I think, very few people doubt that Gillis was out there trying to make conditions safe for everybody.
That said, the police officer clearly takes umbrage with a comment made to the media by Scottie Scheffler’s lawyer, Steve Romines.
Romines said his client was “falsely arrested” and accused police of trying to get him to say something incriminating as he sat in the back seat of a cruiser.
He’s not wrong. It was a false arrest, and the evidence bears that out. There is video of the incident and none of it shows Gillis being dragged.
And, as Bounding Into Sports covered yesterday, another officer kept trying to get Scheffler to admit that he should have listened to the directions he was being given even though he couldn’t confirm it was the police telling him where to go.
“That’s why you don’t talk to the police. They are not trying to get to what happened. They are trying to get you to incriminate yourself,” Romines told reporters.
“You believe they would have dismissed this case if (Detective Gillis) was dragged? No, they would not,” he said.
Gillis didn’t appreciate the characterization.
“To be clear, I was drug by the car, I went to the ground, and I received visible injuries to my knees and wrist,” he insisted. “I’m going to recover from it, and it will be OK. This is the extent of my commentary on the incident.”
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Nothing But Praise For Scottie, But What About THOSE Pants
Throughout his statement, police detective Bryan Gillis praised Scottie Scheffler for handling the issue with grace and class, separating the golfer from his lawyer’s comments.
“Mr. Scheffler and I agree that there will be no ill will over this going forward. Instead of giving a negative public reaction, he chose to speak with dignity, humility, and respect. My family and I appreciate that,” Gillis said.
Oh, and for anyone worried about his pants, he addressed that as well. The official police report, you may recall, complained Officer Gillis’ pants were “damaged beyond repair.”
“Yes, the department has us buying freaking $80 pants,” he wrote in the postscript. “To those concerned, they were indeed ruined. But Scottie, it’s all good. I never would’ve guessed I’d have the most famous pair of pants in the country for a few weeks because of this.”
Bruh. Nobody was concerned about your pants. They were more concerned that you were willing to pursue assault charges and possibly imprison one of the top athletes in the world because of the actual main injury you suffered that day – a bruised ego.
“I wish Scottie Scheffler and his family all the best,” he added.
The decision to drop charges was struck when both sides agreed not to pursue any further legal action.
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