Scottie Scheffler arrest officer disciplined for not having bodycam turned on
A police officer who arrested world number one golfer Scottie Scheffler has been disciplined for not having his bodycam on during the incident.
Scheffler was dramatically detained ahead of the second round of the PGA Championship last Friday in Louisville, Kentucky, after he reportedly tried to drive around a traffic jam outside Valhalla golf club caused by a fatal accident.
The 27-year-old later said he was “rattled” by the experience, which saw him charged and a police mugshot released of him wearing an orange jail-issue jumpsuit.
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Moment golfer detained by police
Louisville Detective Bryan Gillis has now been subject to “corrective action” for failing to activate his body-worn camera during the pre-dawn encounter in which he claimed he was “dragged/knocked down by the driver”.
Police have already released a video from a street camera that appears to show Scheffler’s car turning into the golf club entrance, prompting an officer to run toward the vehicle and apparently strike it as it comes to a stop.
The camera is too far away to capture the full details of the incident.
Another video released by authorities from a police vehicle dashcam shows Scheffler in handcuffs as he is taken away by officers.
Scheffler was arrested on charges that he injured Gillis and disobeyed commands, but the golfer said “he never intended to disregard any of the instructions” and that the incident was caused by a “big misunderstanding”.
Scheffler’s attorney Steve Romines has said his client was not at fault.
“Our position is the same as it was last Friday, Scottie Scheffler didn’t do anything wrong, we’re not interested in settling the case,” Mr Romines said.
“We’ll either try it or it will be dismissed.”
Police chief Jacquelyn Gwinn-Villaroel says the officer violated policy. Pic: AP
The city’s police chief pointed out officers are expected to maintain their body-worn cameras in a “constant state of operational readiness”.
Jacquelyn Gwinn-Villaroel, head of the Louisville Metro Police Department, said: “Detective Gillis should have turned on his body-worn camera but did not.
“His failure to do so is a violation of LMPD policy on uniforms and equipment.”
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An internal investigation report said Detective Gillis should have at least had his camera on in standby mode while directing traffic before the incident with Scheffler.
Chief Gwinn-Villaroel said the officer had “received corrective action” for the breach.
He had to complete a “failure to record” form as required by policy, was “counselled by a member of his command” and a “performance observation” was completed.
Steve Romines argues his client ‘didn’t do anything wrong’. Pic AP
Detective Gillis had said he was requested to respond to a fatal accident at Valhalla when he saw Scheffler’s vehicle “travelling in the opposing lanes coming at me.”
Gillis, who approached Scheffler’s car on foot, wrote in an arrest report that the driver “refused to comply and accelerated forward, dragging” him to the ground.
He said his uniform trousers were damaged in the fall and he was taken to the hospital for his injuries.
Just hours later, after being carted off in handcuffs and a spell in jail, Scheffler returned to the golf course and eventually finished the tournament tied in eighth place on Sunday, which was enough to secure prize money of about $520,000 (£409,000).
He is due to return to Louisville on 3 June to face four charges, including second-degree felony assault of a police officer.
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Louisville police’s current body camera policy was introduced following controversy in 2020 after officers shot Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old Black woman who was killed during a botched drug raid.
At the time, the plain-clothes officers who served the warrant and fired at Taylor were not required to wear body cameras.
The new policy required all officers to turn on the camera “prior to engaging in all law enforcement activities and encounters.”
The police chief at the time of Taylor’s death was later fired when officers at the scene of another fatal shooting failed to turn on their body-worn cameras.
There are 161 people still missing in Texas in the aftermath of last weekend’s deadly flash floods, the state’s governor has said.
Speaking at a news conference on Tuesday, governor Gregg Abbot said the number of missing had risen markedly.
He said among the missing were five children and one counsellor from Camp Mystic – where at least 27 people were killed in the flash flooding.
At least 109 people are confirmed to have died in the floods, which took place on the 4 July weekend, but this figure has been steadily climbing ever since.
People comforted each other in Kerville. Pic: Jason Fochtman/Houston Chronicle via AP
The bulk of deaths, and the main search for additional bodies, have been concentrated in Kerr County and the city of Kerrville.
The area was transformed into a disaster zone when torrential rains struck the region early last Friday, unleashing deadly flooding along the Guadalupe River.
Travis County, Kendall County, Burnett County, Williamson County, and Tom Green County were also hit.
Mr Abbot said many of those who were unaccounted for were in the Texas Hill Country area, but had not registered at a camp or hotel, posing further challenges for authorities.
Camp Mystic
Mr Abbot planned to make another visit to Camp Mystic.
The century-old all-girls Christian summer camp was badly hit by the flash floods, with at least 27 campers and counsellors dying.
Hanna Lawrence, left, and Rebecca Lawrence, right. Pic: John Lawrence/AP
Lila Bonner (L) and Eloise Peck both died in the flash floods at Camp Mystic, Texas. Pic: Family handout
Chloe Childress. Pic: Debra Alexander Photography via AP
Some of the victims include Hanna and Rebecca Lawrence, both eight, Chloe Childress, 19, who was among the counsellors at Camp Mystic when the flood hit, and Eloise Peck and Lila Bonner, both nine.
There were scenes of devastation at the camp as the flood water receded.
Outside the cabins where the girls had slept, mud-splattered blankets and pillows were scattered.
Also in the debris were pink, purple and light blue luggage, decorated with stickers.
A view inside a cabin at Camp Mystic after the flooding. Pic: Ronaldo Schemidt/AFP via Getty Images
Camper’s belongings lie on the ground following flooding on the Guadalupe River, at Camp Mystic.
Pic: Reuters
‘Everything looked flooded and broken’
One of the campers, 10-year-old Lucy Kennedy, told Sky’s US partner network, NBC News, that she woke up to the sound of thunder at around midnight before the floods struck.
“I couldn’t go back to sleep,” she said. “I just had a feeling that something really bad was about to happen.”
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She said the girls at the camp were told to grab blankets, pillows and water bottles and line up single file as the floodwater rose, before getting airlifted to safety.
Wynne Kennedy, Lucy’s mother, added: “When I saw her, she was wrapped up in a blanket, had a teddy bear.
“We just held each other tight, and I held her all night.”
Their home in Kerrville was also destroyed by the flash floods.
Lucy Kennedy, 10 who was rescued from Camp Mystic, and her mother Wynne. Pic: NBC
Political row
Meanwhile, a political row has unfolded parallel to the recovery efforts, with some questioning whether local authorities sent out warnings and alerts early enough.
Similarly, Democrats have criticised Donald Trump over cuts his Elon Musk-launched Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has made to the National Weather Service – but it isn’t clear whether these actually made any difference.
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Wall of water
The flash floods erupted before daybreak on Friday, after massive amounts of rainfall caused the Guadalupe River to rise by eight metres in less than an hour.
The wall of water overwhelmed cabins, tents and trails along the river’s edge.
Some survivors were found clinging to trees.
Some of the campers had to swim out of their cabin windows to get to safety, while others clung to rope to make it to higher ground.
The date for Sean “Diddy” Combs’s sentencing hearing has been confirmed.
Following his high-profile trial, the hip-hop mogul was found guilty of two counts of transportation for prostitution by jurors in Manhattan, New York, last week – but was cleared of sex-trafficking and racketeering conspiracy.
Defence lawyers argued Combs, who has been in prison in Brooklyn since his arrest in September last year, should be bailed ahead of sentencing given the not guilty verdicts for the more serious charges, but Judge Arun Subramanian denied this – citing, among other things, the rapper’s own admissions of previous violent behaviour.
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs in court after the verdict was delivered. Pic: Reuters/ Jane Rosenberg
The charges of sex-trafficking and racketeering conspiracy carried a potential life sentence. Combs still faces up to 20 years in prison for the prostitution-related offences, but is not expected to receive the maximum punishment.
After the verdict was delivered, the judge scheduled the sentencing hearing for 3 October. At a remote follow-up conference on Tuesday, with agreement from the defence and prosecution, the judge approved the date.
Combs joined the call but did not make any comment.
Any sentence will include credit for time already served – which will be just over a year by the time the hearing takes place.
During his trial, Combs was accused by prosecutors of abusing and coercing three alleged victims, including his former long-term partner, singer and model Cassie Ventura.
Jurors found the allegations did not amount to sex-trafficking or racketeering, or running a criminal enterprise – but they did find him guilty of transporting Cassie and another former girlfriend “Jane” for prostitution offences around the US, and paying male escorts to engage in sexual encounters.
Despite the guilty verdict on those charges, the 55-year-old’s team described it as “the victory of all victories”.
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In an interview over the weekend, defence lawyer Marc Agnifilo said Combs had received a standing ovation from fellow inmates when he returned to jail after being acquitted of the more serious charges.
“They all said, ‘We never get to see anyone who beats the government’,” he said.
Ahead of sentencing, Combs’s lawyers will file their recommendations by 19 September, with prosecutors likely to follow a week later.
Prosecutors previously said the rapper could face about four to five years in prison under federal sentencing guidelines, while the defence has suggested a two-year sentence.
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