Watch CBS News

Mel Gibson update: Deputy's discrimination suit v. sheriff over Gibson DUI arrest gets green light

Mel Gibson Update:  Judge OKs Lawsuit Filed by Los Angeles Deputy Alleging Discrimination After Gibson's 2006 Arrest
Mel Gibson Los Angeles County Sheriff's Dept.

(CBS/KCBS/AP) LOS ANGELES - James Mee, the Los Angeles sheriff's deputy who arrested Mel Gibson for drunken driving in 2006, can proceed with a lawsuit claiming he suffered discrimination, retaliation, and harassment, for refusing to omit the actor-director's anti-Semitic slurs in the arrest report.

PICTURES: Mel Gibson's Sickest Rants

A judge Tuesday threw out a motion filed by attorneys representing the county to have the case dismissed, saying too much time had lapsed between the incident and when the lawsuit was filed, reports local station KTLA.

Mee, who is Jewish, filed the lawsuit against his department last September, claiming his superiors forced him to rewrite his initial report to remove references to the rant.

According to The Los Angeles Times, Mee, who is still employed by the department, said he included the actor's slurs in his initial report to illustrate how drunk Gibson was. "The Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world," Gibson said, according to Mee.

He claims he was repeatedly passed over for promotions and unfairly targeted by his department after parts of his report, including the rant, were leaked to gossip site TMZ.

Mee, 55, was investigated as the possible source, but never charged.

Sheriff's spokesman Steve Whitmore denied the lawsuit's allegations and said he's looking forward to setting the record straight.

COMPLETE COVERAGE OF MEL GIBSON ON CRIMESIDER


View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.