CLEMSON — Through the freedom of information act, The Clemson Insider was able to obtain information on Monday from an incident report involving the arrest of Clemson football player Ian Schieffelin.
The former Clemson basketball star turned football player was arrested on suspicion of DUI in the early morning hours of Aug. 17. Officer Tyler Cantrell of the city of Clemson Police Department pulled Schieffelin over during a traffic stop.
The incident occurred at 1:37 a.m. on Sunday, Aug. 17. The traffic stop was located on Tiger Blvd. (Hwy. 123) in Clemson.
According to the incident report filed by Officer Cantrell, while patrolling along Tiger Blvd., heading towards Oconee bridge, and within the city limits of Clemson, he noticed a vehicle rapidly approaching his vehicle from the rear.
Cantrell reported he was traveling approximately 40 mph. He reports that while he noticed the vehicle rapidly gaining on him, the officer observed the approaching vehicle swerve over the double yellow line.
At that time, Cantrell wrote he “merged into the median allowing the vehicle to pass so that I could initiate a lawful traffic stop.”
Cantrell activated his blue lights in front of the Wells Fargo bank. Schieffelin, who was driving a grey Audi with a Georgia tag, turned left onto Holiday Ave and came to a stop inside the parking garage of Dockside.
Cantrell made contact with Schieffelin, identified him through his Georgia Driver’s License, and advised him of the reason for the stop.
Schieffelin was arrested for driving under the influence after he refused a breathalyzer test. It was his first offense.
The incident was recorded on Cantrell’s body worn camera and will be downloaded to the BWCR server.
News of Schieffelin’s arrest came out Sunday afternoon, where Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney was quick to address the situation involving the former basketball star turned football player.
“We are aware of Ian Schieffelin’s arrest on suspicion of DUI. Clemson Athletics has a clear policy by which we will abide, so Ian will miss some competition to start this season as a consequence,” Swinney said in the statement. “We’re obviously very disappointed by the situation, but we are very thankful no others were involved and no one was hurt.”
Late Sunday night, after multiple media requests, including one from TCI, the city of Clemson Police Department sent out a statement, via Facebook, on the arrest and gave detail on some of the events.
“Following a traffic violation on Tiger Boulevard, the Clemson Police Department made the arrest of Clemson University football player Ian Schieffelin for DUI at 1:47 AM last night. He was released on bond at 9:10 AM this morning. The investigation is still ongoing,” the statement said.
Clemson Football officially added Schieffelin to the program as a tight end in early May. He has been practicing with the Tigers since camp opened on July 30.
Schieffelin spent the first four years of his five-year collegiate clock as a central figure for some of the most successful basketball teams in Clemson history. The forward helped the Tigers to NCAA Tournament appearances in each of his final two seasons, starting all 70 of Clemson’s games in that span.
He concluded his basketball career at Clemson as one of 47 1,000-point scorers in the program’s history and finished ranked seventh all-time in career rebounds.