Did Gibson Get a Break After Arrest?
The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department's civilian oversight office said Saturday that it will investigate whether authorities gave Mel Gibson preferential treatment when he was arrested on suspicion of drunk driving and tried to cover up alleged offensive comments and behavior by one of Hollywood's most powerful figures.
The probe was begun after a celebrity news website, TMZ.com, published portions of the arresting deputy's handwritten report, saying the star was abusive, shouted anti-Jewish slurs, attempted to escape from custody and boasted that he "owned Malibu." A source close to the investigation confirmed Saturday that the pages posted by the website were authentic.
On Friday, a Sheriff's Department spokesman told reporters that Gibson had been arrested that day in Malibu "without incident." But the website alleged that evening that supervisors at the Malibu-Lost Hills sheriff's station tried to downplay the actor's behavior by omitting his most offensive actions in an abridged version of the arresting deputy's report, which has yet to be made public.
"All that stuff about favorable treatment is something that needs to be looked at," said Mike Gennaco, who heads the Office of Independent Review, which investigates allegations of officer misconduct and monitors the department.
"I'd like to see if there was a legitimate law enforcement reason for asking that the report be altered," Gennaco said. He said his investigation will be wide-reaching, looking at Gibson's ties to the department. In the past, Gibson has actively participated in a charity created by Sheriff Lee Baca.
Baca on Saturday defended the way his department handled the case and said the actor's behavior after his arrest is not relevant to the criminal charges.
"There is no cover-up," he said. "Our job is not to [focus] on what he said. It's to establish his blood-alcohol level when he was driving and proceed with the case. Trying someone on rumor and innuendo is no way to run an investigation, at least one with integrity."
Gibson issued a statement Saturday apologizing for his "despicable" behavior.
"I acted like a person completely out of control when I was arrested," the statement reads, "and said things that I do not believe to be true and which are despicable. I am deeply ashamed of everything I said."
Gibson said he has battled alcoholism as an adult, adding, "I
