Craig Miller is a retired Dallas deputy police chief who for 18 years oversaw traffic enforcement at Reunion Arena, American Airlines Center and the championship game.
DALLAS, Texas — After Louisville authorities released new security and dashcam footage of golf superstar Scottie Scheffler’s arrest last Friday before the second round of the PGA Championship, a former Dallas police chief who oversaw sports traffic enforcement for nearly two decades responded by saying the officers who arrested Scheffler overreacted “to the point of no return.”
“I believe Scotty was simply following the directions of the PGA and his club. I believe the officers in this case overreacted. Once that happened, there was no turning back,” said Craig Miller, a former deputy chief with the Dallas Police Department with more than 30 years of experience.
During that time, Miller oversaw traffic enforcement at Dallas’ Reunion Arena and American Airlines Center, where officers are regularly outside the AAC waving Dallas Mavericks and Stars players into the parking garages below the buildings.
Miller also oversaw traffic enforcement for numerous football championship games, including the NBA Finals, Stanley Cup Finals and the Super Bowl.
“I don’t see this as aggressive behaviour by Scottie. He was just trying to get in where he was told. The reason the police were there (aside from an accident) was for the players and security. Looking after the players is part of what they have to do,” Miller added.
The video has garnered one-sided reactions online that do not fully support or illustrate Detective Brian Gillis’ scathing documented account of his interactions with Scheffler that led to the Dallas golfer’s arrest, which included felony assault, reckless driving and other charges.
At the same time, Gillis was given “corrective action” for violating police policy by not wearing a body camera at the time of the incident.
A pole camera across the street shows Schaeffler’s PGA-branded car driving past shuttle buses that block most of the view on the ground. Police in yellow vests can be seen chasing the car, waving to get the driver’s attention.
Scheffler’s arrest warrant states that Gillis’ $80 uniform pants were “irreparably damaged,” but there is no indication that the officer was “dragged to the ground.”
The officers appeared to talk to Scheffler for a few seconds, then more officers began walking toward the car. Within a minute, Scheffler was removed from the vehicle and handcuffed.
Dashcam footage from an LMPD patrol car shows Scheffler being escorted by two other officers to another patrol car off-screen at about 6:03 a.m.
Scheffler has denied any wrongdoing and said the incident was the result of a misunderstanding. While police were investigating a fatal traffic accident outside Valhalla Golf Club, players were allowed inside the club to prepare for the second round of the PGA Championship.
This was a very chaotic incident, and Miller said that if he had been in charge Friday morning, he could have prevented it from getting to this point.
So how did he cope?
“If I felt his behavior was inappropriate, I would have pulled over and explained to him what was going on,” Miller said. “De-escalation is key, but a picture is worth a thousand words here. Quickly remove someone from the car and handcuff them? There was no reason for him to act in that way.”
The county continues to pursue the case, and Scheffler is expected to plead not guilty in early June.
