Deputy says he doesn’t want to ‘defame’ Mel Gibson

Published 9:00 pm Monday, July 31, 2006

CALABASAS, Calif. – The deputy who arrested Mel Gibson on suspicion of drunken driving said Monday that he feels bad for damage to the star’s reputation but hopes Gibson thinks twice before drinking and getting behind the wheel.

James Mee, a Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy, told The Associated Press that he considered it a routine arrest and didn’t take seriously any comments Gibson made.

Gibson reportedly unleashed an anti-Semitic tirade and made other offensive comments when he was pulled over, initially for speeding, early Friday along the Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu. He was then arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol.

Gibson has issued a public apology for his conduct without specifying what he said or did.

“I don’t take pride in hurting Mr. Gibson,” said Mee, a 17-year deputy who is Jewish. “What I had hoped out of this is that he would think twice before he gets behind the wheel of a car and was drinking. … I don’t want to ruin his career. I don’t want to defame him in any way or hurt him.”

An official police report on the arrest substantiates claims that Gibson made anti-Semitic remarks and threatened a deputy, officials said earlier Monday.

Sheriff’s Department officials sent prosecutors their case, which also says a tequila bottle was found in Gibson’s car when he was pulled over.

The entertainment Web site TMZ.com had reported that the sheriff’s department was considering eliminating the anti-Semitic remarks from its official report.

The report sent to prosecutors cites Gibson as making disparaging comments about Jews, according to a law enforcement official who spoke on condition of anonymity.

In the interview outside his home, Mee would not comment specifically on what Gibson said.

“That stuff is booze talking,” the deputy said. “There’s two things that booze does. It amplifies your basic personality. If you are a laid-back kind of person, just an easygoing kind of person, booze is going to amplify that, and you’ll be just sitting around going how it’s a wonderful day.

“But if you are a high-strung person, it’s going to amplify that, and all the bad things are going to come out.”