Deputy in Gibson Case Claims Harassment

LOS ANGELES - The sheriff's deputy who arrested Mel Gibson for drunken driving six months ago says his superiors have harassed him ever since a report detailing the star's anti-Semitic tirade was leaked to a celebrity new Web site.

Deputy James Mee was transferred to another assignment, interrogated for several hours, and investigators seized a computer and phone records during a search of his home, his attorney told the Los Angeles Times for its Thursday editions.

"His life and career would be a lot different had he not made that arrest," attorney Richard Shinee said.

Neal Tyler, a division chief who oversees the sheriff's office where Gibson was booked, denied that Mee was singled out and said he didn't know of any problems with Mee's treatment.

He declined to discuss Mee's specific complaints because of confidentiality rules, but he said, "I disagree with the assessment that personnel in the department or at the station have been relating to him or supervising him in an unfair manner."

Mee arrested Gibson July 29 in Malibu on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol. An arrest report signed by Mee and posted on the celebrity news Web site TMZ said Gibson was belligerent and quoted him as saying: "The Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world."

The actor-director later apologized to the Jewish community and pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor charge of drunken driving.

After Gibson's much-publicized arrest, investigations were opened into whether Gibson received preferential treatment, and into who leaked Mee's report to TMZ.

"My client has denied he gave the report to anyone," Shinee said.

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For the record, I do not like Mel Gibson. I dislike and distrust bigots. To me, any man who is capable of making some of the comments and slurs Mel Gibson has made in the past is capable of anything. Do I think he gave that report out? Yes. Did Gibson mean the slurs? Probably. It's hard for me to fathom how anyone with a conscience could go to a movie made by this man and contribute to this form of social injustice and hatred. I refuse to give him my hard earned money so he can have a big hit when he says such horrible things about other people. He is NOT the victim here. The people he slurs are the victims. Boycott. Boycott. Boycott.

Walk The Line Star In Accident

Hollywood Film Star In Accident

Hollywood actor Joaquin Phoenix was in a car accident in Los Angeles, but no one was injured, police have announced.

Phoenix, the star of Walk the Line, had been driving on a canyon road mid-afternoon Thursday when he discovered his brakes had stopped working, police spokesperson Jason Lee said, according to the Associated Press.

Lee said Phoenix then lost control of his car, which overturned and hit another vehicle. No police report was filed and there were no reports of injury.

Phoenix had been wearing his seat belt and had been helped out of his car by a passer-by, the actor's publicist, Susan Patricola, later said in a statement.

Despite the accident, the 31-year-old actor will attend Sunday's Screen Actors Guild Awards gala, where he is nominated for best male actor in a leading role, Patricola told Us Weekly magazin

Phoenix won a Golden Globe Award for his portrayal of country music legend Johnny Cash in Walk the Line.

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I think this mat be an older story, and I hope Joachin is doing great. I actually got to meet his brother River and their father in Idaho back in 1985 or so. I wasn't really a fan of theirs at that time. I believe they were scouting for a movie location. Not sure. Great people, very earthy. Hope he's doing well.