Posted on 10/12/2006 11:51:20 AM PDT by SJackson
TMZ has learned the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department has gone after the deputy who arrested Mel Gibson with a vengeance. At the same time, it appears little has been done to determine if top brass gave Gibson special treatment and deceived the media.
Sheriff's sources confirm to TMZ that the Department obtained a search warrant and raided the home of Deputy James Mee on September 13th. We're told deputies went inside and took Mee's computer, phone records and other documents. Sheriff's Department sources say the Department got the warrant because officials believed Deputy Mee leaked four pages of the original arrest report to TMZ. The Sheriff's Department claims it's a crime for a law enforcement officer to leak confidential documents.
The warrant is still sealed and the results of the search have not been made public.
TMZ contacted Mee's lawyer, Richard Shinee, who would not comment on the warrant.
Meanwhile, the Sheriff's Department claims it is still investigating charges that Department officials gave Gibson special treatment and lied to the media the day of the arrest.
The day Gibson was busted, Sheriff's officials told TMZ and other media that the arrest occurred "without incident." Nothing could be further from the truth. Gibson acknowledged his out-of-control behavior on today's "Good Morning America."
Also on the day of the arrest, Sheriff's officials told TMZ that the story it was about to publish documenting Gibson's anti-Semitic remarks and vulgar conduct was "absolutely false." Only after TMZ obtained portions of the arrest report did the Department change its story, ultimately telling TMZ the entire report would be submitted to the D.A.
As of today, no one from the Sheriff's Department has contacted TMZ to ask questions about the website's interactions with top Sheriff's brass on the day in question. By contrast, a Sheriff's official did contact TMZ's Managing Editor Harvey Levin to ask about the leak. Levin refused to give the deputy any information.
Sheriff's spokesperson Steve Whitmore told TMZ that everything is being done to make sure that the L.A. County Sheriff's Department is doing "everything which is right."
Michael Gennaco, Chief Attorney for the Office of Independent Review, the oversight panel for the Department, tells TMZ the Sheriff's Department cannot do a "complete and robust" investigation into the way the Department handled the case until the criminal investigation into the leak is resolved.
What a deceptive headline! It should say they are going after the officer, but it implies that Mel Gibson was served.
The point of a headline is to tell the truth and induce you to read the story. It worked.
Anyone else see a different connection? If someone else leaked this, then are they more plausible to be the original leak?
You knew there was some underhanded activity involved when Gibson's comments first came to light. Anyone is law enforcement will tell you that the verbal comments of someone arrested for drunk driving are never included in arrest reports -- mainly because it could take months to formally document the endless, pointless ramblings of most perps of this sort.
Let's see...a rich and powerful man threatens to destroy you as you arrest him...has connections with the brass...the brass tries to make you lie on an official police report to cover up for the rich and powerful man who threatened to destroy you...
You bet you'd leak to protect yourself. If you didn't you'd be a fool.
Gibson is still juiced though. The mid-level brass who engaged in a deceitful probably illegal coverup get a pass, the truthteller gets the home-wrecking experience.
I must take in stupid drunks, because they often repeat the same things over and over, I document it if it is relevant. I always use quotation marks and give them the appropriate credit. Usually, they are incredible bores and not amusing though.
"Anyone is law enforcement will tell you that the verbal comments of someone arrested for drunk driving are never included in arrest reports"
No. That's ridiculous.
I've asked a few myself, and gotten the opposite answer. They tell me the verbal comments are frequently included, as they go directly to the state of mind of the arrestee. That can work to the benefit of the prosecution or the defence, depending on the circumstances. It's similar to the practice of videotaping arrests. There's no point in arguing the point, since contemporary articles indicated that these things were included in arrest reports in Malibu, making the order to remove them an aberration leading to the leak of the reports.
And a fool if there's evidence in the house.
The idea that they can't investigate both, the leak and preferential treatment, at the same time is odd.
>>>You knew there was some underhanded activity involved when Gibson's comments first came to light. Anyone is law enforcement will tell you that the verbal comments of someone arrested for drunk driving are never included in arrest reports -- mainly because it could take months to formally document the endless, pointless ramblings of most perps of this sort.>>>
Absolutely! How many DUI reports gives quotes on the drunk ramblings. This guy was out for a buck from the start.
You're suggesting the arresting officer was attempting to blackmail Gibson? Or that he was soliciting a bribe?
Why wouldn't Gibson go public with that? It would be sympathetic.
Personally, I think you simply made that up.
If they catch someone, I wouldn't hang him. If it's criminal, charge him. I doubt TMZ has any liability here at all. It's a public record.
Mel Gibson antisemitism = Bad
Jessi Jackson antisemitism = Good
It gets so damn confusing sometimes.
I posted that on a thread at the time of Gibson's arrest. I've been in journalism a long time and I've never, ever, seen a police report which went into detail like that one did. Usually they just note the suspect was "combative" or "verbally abusive" or some such.
>>>Absolutely! How many DUI reports gives quotes on the drunk ramblings. This guy was out for a buck from the start.
You're suggesting the arresting officer was attempting to blackmail Gibson? Or that he was soliciting a bribe? >>>
No, why would you assume that is the only way he would make money? Can you say TABLOID INTERVIEW, etc...? The DUI isn't a big deal, the jew remarks are. Therefore, he was making public record of a big deal arrest that people would be interested in him for.
And why would I "make up" an opinion? Sheesh, that was a stupid comment.
Presuming he "leaked" the document, and I wouldn't presume it was him, there would have been safer ways to deal with it. I'm sure he violated department regulations, a crime, I don't know, most places arrest reports are public records. With procedures for redacting confidential information, which I presume would be the offence here. Of course the procedures weren't followed.
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