Gibson leak leads to search of officer’s home

updated 11:30 a.m. ET Oct. 13, 2006

LOS ANGELES - The sheriff’s deputy who arrested actor Mel Gibson for drunken driving has had his home searched by fellow officers investigating how a police account of the actor’s anti-Semitic tirade was made public, it was reported Thursday.

Acting on a search warrant obtained by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, investigators raided the home of Deputy James Mee on Sept. 13 and seized his computer, telephone records and other documents, according to the celebrity Web site TMZ.com.

TMZ, citing unnamed department sources for its report, said the search warrant remains under seal and the outcome of the search has not been made public.

Sheriff’s spokesman Steve Whitmore refused to confirm or deny the report, saying only that the department is “investigating the unauthorized release of documents connected to the investigation” of the Gibson case.

Neither Mee nor his lawyer were available for comment.

TMZ is the Internet outlet which first published details of Gibson’s behavior at the time of his July 28 arrest, as recounted by Mee in four pages of his police report obtained by the Web site.

Sheriff’s officials initially asserted that Gibson was arrested “without incident.” But portions of the police report leaked to TMZ described Gibson as acting in a belligerent manner, trying to escape from custody and threatening to “get even” with Mee.

Mee, who is Jewish, also reported that Gibson made a statement blaming Jews for “all the wars in the world” and asked him if he were a Jew.

Disclosure of Gibson’s rant sparked headlines, drew condemnation from Jewish leaders and led to speculation that his Hollywood career had been irreparably damaged.

Gibson, who later pleaded no contest to a drunken driving charge and was ordered into treatment for alcohol abuse, has apologized for his conduct. He told ABC’s Diane Sawyer in an interview broadcast this week that his outburst was “just the stupid rambling of a drunkard.”

But the fact that his outburst only became public after it was leaked to TMZ has raised questions about whether the sheriff’s department gave him preferential treatment.

Michael Gennaco, who heads a civilian oversight agency for the sheriff’s department called the Office of Independent Review, said an inquiry into that issue was continuing.

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