Mel Gibson In Treatment Program

Actor Getting 'Ongoing' Help In Battle With Alcohol, Publicist Says

(CBS/AP)  Mel Gibson's publicist says the actor has sought treatment for his battle with alcohol.

"Mel has entered into an ongoing program of recovery," Alan Nierob told TheShowbuzz.com on Monday. "The guy is trying to stay alive."

In a statement released Saturday, Gibson said he has struggled with alcoholism and taken steps "to ensure my return to health."

Gibson was apologizing for his behavior during an arrest on drunk driving charges early Friday morning.

An official police report on Gibson's arrest substantiates claims that he made anti-Semitic remarks and threatened a deputy, a law enforcement official said Monday.

On 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 on the Pacific Coast Highway.

Gibson released the lengthy statement Saturday apologizing for saying "despicable" things to sheriff's deputies when he was arrested, but he did not elaborate. 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 forwarded to prosecutors cites Gibson as making disparaging comments about Jews, according to the law enforcement official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter.

TMZ reported that Gibson said, "The Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world," and asked the arresting officer, "Are you a Jew?"

Sheriff's deputy James Mee, who arrested Gibson, told The Associated Press he feels badly about damage to the star's reputation, but hopes Gibson thinks twice before drinking and driving.

Mee, who is Jewish, says he considered the arrest routine and didn't take any comments made by Gibson seriously. He would not comment specifically on what Gibson said.

The district attorney's office confirmed prosecutors had received the case and it was under review. A tentative arraignment date was set for Sept. 28.

On Monday, a sheriff's spokesman defended the department's handling of the case.

"In that case file will be (Gibson's) statement, will be our report, will be everything pertinent to his blood-alcohol level. We have done our job," sheriff's spokesman Steve Whitmore told reporters Monday at department headquarters. "We hope we've done it with not only professionalism and intelligence, but held to the highest standard of legal and moral imperative."

The department, he said, was "convinced because of our investigation and because of his own self-illuminating statement that he will be convicted of driving under the influence."

The questions about whether police were covering up Gibson's remarks came partly because Gibson has a relationship with Sheriff Lee Baca. He has dressed in a sheriff's uniform to film public service announcements for Baca's Star Organization, a charity group that raises scholarships for children of department employees. Gibson also donated $10,000, Whitmore said.