Three members of the sheriff's department in Malibu, Calif., have been disciplined for their handling of the 2006 arrest of actor Mel Gibson for drunk driving.
Michael Gennaco, who heads a civilian oversight panel, says the staffers did not follow proper procedure in the case that sparked worldwide outrage due to a leaked story detailing Gibson's drunken, anti-Semitic rant upon being arrested.
Actor-director Mel Gibson, seen in this police photo taken on July 28, 2006, pleaded no contest to a drunk driving charge and was placed on 3 years probabtion.
(Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department/ Associated Press)
"The general public expects equal treatment under the law, and when there's a perception that's not what is going on, that's a problem," said Gennaco late Friday after releasing a report by the Office of Independent Review.
Gennaco says the three employees, which included two supervisors, were guilty of minor infractions. Two sergeants were given formal reprimands while a jailer was suspended for two days without pay.
According to the report, the Lethal Weapon star was allowed to leave the station in Malibu without providing a palm print or signing a statement to appear in court as required. Then, a sergeant drove Gibson to a tow yard to retrieve his car, without clearing it with his station commanders.
Gennaco says other than that, the employees followed procedure and handled Gibson's arrest and prosecution professionally.
Only one other aspect of the case was criticized — how the department first reported Gibson's arrest in July 2006. A spokesman first said Gibson was pulled over and detained "without incident."
That flew in the face of a leaked police report that characterized the 51-year-old director as confrontational and offensive as he launched into a tirade about Jews being the cause "for all the wars in the world."
Gennaco says the department needs to develop guidelines on how to handle the media when it comes to high-profile cases.
Gibson, who already fended off accusations of anti-Semitism surrounding his film The Passion of the Christ, issued a formal apology for his behaviour, promising to go into counselling for anger management and alcohol abuse.
"Please know from my heart that I am not an anti-Semite. I am not a bigot. Hatred of any kind goes against my faith," said Gibson in a statement released four days after his arrest.
The actor pleaded no contest to the charge of drunken driving. He was slapped with a fine, ordered to go to alcohol abuse counselling and was placed on probation for three years.
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