Officer at scene of Scheffler’s arrest charged with theft, misconduct

A Louisville Metro Police officer who had failed to turn on his body-worn camera during PGA golfer Scottie Scheffler’s arrest was himself arrested Friday morning on theft and misconduct charges.

Officer Javar Downs has been placed on emergency suspension with limited police powers and Chief Paul Humphrey has begun the process of terminating Downs’ employment, according to a statement by LMPD communications director Angela Ingram.

‘Allegations of officer malfeasance are taken very seriously. LMPD prioritizes accountability and remains committed to conducting thorough and expedient investigations in the best interests of all parties involved,’ Ingram wrote in an email.

Downs has been charged with theft by unlawfully taking more than $1,000 and official misconduct. He is currently under internal investigation by LMPD’s Public Integrity Unit.

According to Ingram, an investigation was prompted by a civilian complaint alleging theft. The citizen, whose identity has not been released, was arrested Wednesday by Downs.

Downs is part LMPD’s Traffic Unit and was one of the officers on the scene of Scheffler’s high-profile May arrest. Downs admitted in a failure to record form that he had not activated his body-worn camera during the incident and reported his missing footage would have captured Scheffler being removed from his car and placed into custody.

LMPD policy requires officers to activate their body cameras “prior to engaging in all law enforcement activities and encounters’ and are excused from activating their devices only if their assigned camera is “docked for uploading following a tour of duty.”

While most of the LMPD supervisors listed in the report criticized Downs and Watkins for failing to activate their camera equipment and thereby violating policy, Downs’ immediate supervisor, Robert Ward, wrote he did not have time to activate his equipment due to the ‘rapidly deteriorating situation’ and his duty to provide quick assistance.

Scheffler was arrested May 17 and booked on charges of second-degree assault, third-degree criminal mischief, reckless driving and disregarding signals from an officer directing traffic. His charges were dropped less than two weeks later.