Last July, LASO Deputy James Mee arrested Lethal Weapon star Mel Glibson in Malibu for drunk driving. During this incident, as reported in the initial arrest report, Gibson ranted against Jews. Mee's supervisors ordered him to rewrite the report and to delete Gibson's anti-Semitic outburst. However, LASO could not cover up Gibson's conduct because TMZ.com, a well known celebrity news Web site, had received and published a copy of the initial report, thereby letting the genie out of the bottle.
Gibson is a personal friend of LA Sheriff Lee Baca and has helped Baca raise money for LASO charities. Gibson has also made a number of public service commercials for LASO and has been a strong supporter of law enforcement. So, LASO had several good reasons to protect Gibson's reputation and to keep him from receiving any bad publicity.
On Auguts 5, I made the following remarks in my blog on Gibson's arrest. "Whoever provided TMZ with copies of the initial arrest report will be up to his ears in deep shit if LASO manages to find out who did it. You can bet that the investigation of that leak will be far more intense than the investigation of the whole Gibson affair." And, that is exactly what has happened.
According to his attorney, Mee has been harassed by LASO officials ever since Gibson's arrest. He was abruptly transferred from Malibu, home to the rich and famous, and exiled to the Agoura Hills station. His attorney alleges that Mee continues to be unfairly singled out for scrutiny by LASO supervisors. Last October, Mee was interrogated at length because LASO believes he provided TMZ with Gibson's initial arrest report. Mee insists that he is not the source of the leak to TMZ.
Mee's treatment sends a strong message to LASO deputies - DON'T FUCK WITH SHERIFF BACA'S FRIENDS. Baca was notified immediately of Gibson's arrest, but no one has said that he personally wanted the intitial report changed. It may be that Mee's supervisors, knowing of Gibson's friendship with Baca, took it upon themselves to cover up the details of Mad Max's arrest. What about the continuing harassment of Mee? I do not believe Baca is personally responsible for that. Suckass supervisors are probably behind that, trying to score points with the boss.
Would there have been any reaction by LASO, had a report on the arrest of Joe Sixpack been leaked to TMZ? I seriously doubt it. Poor Deputy Mee - he is really fucked. Once you get on a law enforcement agency's shit list, your career is all but over and your supervisors will make life miserable for you from then on out. Their aim is to drive you off the force. The whole Gibson affair and Mee's harassment both stink. It does not reflect well on LASO, and it does not reflect well on all of law enforcement.
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