Police chief says police violated body camera rules | Wilnesh News

A Louisville, KentuckyThe city’s police chief said Thursday that detectives violated the law by failing to activate their body cameras when arresting top golfer Scotty Scheffler last week as he tried to drive onto the grounds of the PGA Championship. Departmental Policies.

Detective Brian Gillis “should have turned on his body camera, but did not,” Louisville Metro Police Chief Jacqueline Gwen-Villarro said at a news conference.

Due to the seriousness of the violation, “the officer has been subject to corrective action for this policy violation,” Gwen-Villarrore said.

Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg said at a news conference that the city would release video footage of Friday morning’s incident showing Gillis arresting Scheffler, 27, after he allegedly walked around a golfer. As he passed other vehicles, he attacked him with his car.

“Activating body cameras is critical to our police departments,” Greenberg said. The footage came from pole cameras and police dashboard cameras.

Louisville police policy states that officers must “maintain their (body-worn cameras) in a constant state of operational readiness” and requires officers to “activate their (body-worn cameras) in recording mode immediately before engaging in all law enforcement.” activity or encounter.

Some legal analysts expected the news conference to announce reduced felony charges against Scheffler. However, neither the mayor nor the police chief disclosed the progress of the case, saying only that they would not release any new information other than video footage.

“We have to respect the legal process and that’s what we’re going to do,” Greenberg said.

Louisville police have been heavily criticized for shooting Breonna Taylor while serving a no-knock warrant at her apartment in March 2020 as part of an investigation into Taylor’s ex-boyfriend, who did not live with her. a part of.

Police initially said the shooting was not captured on video because members of the team serving the warrant were not wearing body cameras. but subsequent news reports Crime scene photos show at least one officer involved in the raid wearing a body camera and another officer wearing a camera mount.

Taylor’s shooting and the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police two months later, which was captured on bystander video, sparked nationwide protests against excessive use of force by police.

this Ministry of Justice A scathing report into the Louisville Police Department was released in March 2023, finding that the agency engaged in a pattern of excessive use of force, unlawful execution of search warrants, illegal stops and searches, and discrimination against “black” people in law enforcement activities.

“For many years, the Inner Mongolia Police Department has engaged in a selective and aggressive approach to policing, targeting black people in particular but also targeting vulnerable populations throughout the city,” the U.S. Department of Justice said in the report.

Scheffler, who is white, was charged with second-degree assault on a police officer, a felony, a third-degree misdemeanor, criminal mischief, reckless driving and ignoring a police signal directing traffic.

He was arrested in Louisville as police investigated the death of a 69-year-old man who was struck by a shuttle outside Valhalla Golf Club, site of last week’s PGA Championship.

Police said Scheffler drove in the center of the road outside the golf club and failed to comply with Gillis’ order to stop.

Scheffler’s car then “accelerated and dragged (Gillis) to the ground,” the police report said.

Gillis was taken to the hospital with “pain, swelling and abrasions on his left wrist and knee,” the report said.

Scheffler was released without bail within hours and returned to the club in time for the second round kick-off.

He said his arrest was the result of a “huge misunderstanding”.

“This morning I was following instructions from the police. The situation was very chaotic, which is understandable given the tragic accident that occurred earlier,” Scheffler said in his official post. Instagram account.

“I think there’s a huge misunderstanding of what I’m being asked to do,” he said. “It was never my intention to ignore any instructions.”

Scheffler’s attorney, Steven Romines, said last week that another officer told the golfer to avoid other vehicles.

“Multiple witnesses confirmed that he did nothing wrong and was just following instructions,” Romines said.

“He stopped immediately when instructed to do so and at no time did he attack any officer with his vehicle,” the lawyer said.

Scheffler’s lawyer said Scheffler will be tried on June 3 and will plead not guilty.

Scheffler will compete in the Charles Schwab Challenge this week in Fort Worth, Texas.