During the arrest of Mel Gibson on suspicion on drunk driving, the arresting officer now claims that he was discriminated against. Attorneys for the officer desire for Gibson to serves as a witness in the upcoming trial. Deputy James Mae claims that he was discriminated against after the arrest of the Oscar-winner because he is Jewish. The trial will focus its attention on things happening after the arrest of Gibson in 2006, and hope to use Gibson as a prime witness to determine if the officer did, indeed, suffer discrimination because of the arrest.
Mee’s attorneys want to prove to the court that due to a close relationship with Gibson, the Los Angeles County’s Sheriff’s Department acted to protect the star instead of put him to justice.
The county refuses to submit to the accusation that Mee faced retaliation or discrimination from the department.
During the arrest, Gibson made several anti-Semantic comments. This is where most of the trail will focus. Mee claims that department superiors forced Mee to remove the comments from the report. He also claims that he did not receive a promotion because of this incident, and he was ostracized from the rest of the department.
In 2009, the conviction of Gibson was expunged because he had complied all of the terms laid out in his sentence. However, the expungement did not do anything to repair his damaged reputation. Shortly after his arrest, details of his sexist rant and anti-Semitic remarks were shared with TMZ, a celebrity gossip website. Because of this leak, Gibson’s reputation was destroyed for years. The actor apologized for his behavior and worked hard to completed the terms of his sentence to begin rebuilding his reputation.
Prior to the arrest, Gibson worked as a spokesman for the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. Mee’s attorneys are seeking the opportunity to show a public service of Gibson in a Deputy’s uniform he filmed before the arrest. The attorneys feel it will give a good context to the jurors regarding the actor’s relationship with the department.
In a court filing, his attorneys wrote that “the circumstances that serve as a backdrop to the harassment and hostile work environment that Deputy Mee suffered. Gibson wasn’t just another arrestee. He was the ‘public face’ of the department.”
Sheriff Lee Baca has also been requested to testify, according to a filed witness list for the case. Steve Whitmore, Baca’s spokesman, said, “He’ll do whatever is legally appropriate. We look forward to telling the whole story.”
The trial is scheduled to begin on February 14.