Cop calls Gibson for discrimination trial

Attorneys for a deputy who arrested Mel Gibson on suspicion of drunken driving want to call the Oscar-winner as a witness during an upcoming trial to determine if the officer suffered discrimination because of the case. The trial will focus on what happened to Deputy James Mee after he arrested the actor-director in 2006, and whether he endured discrimination because he is Jewish. Mee's attorneys are hoping to show the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department moved to protect Gibson because the star had a close relationship with the department before his arrest. Attorneys for the county have denied Mee faced discrimination or retaliation. The case is likely to focus heavily on Gibson's arrest, when the actor made anti-Semitic comments that Mee claims his superiors forced him to remove from a report. Mee also alleges he was ostracised and his opportunities for promotion were blocked after he arrested Gibson. Gibson's reputation was damaged for years after details of the arrest and his anti-Semitic and sexist rant was leaked to celebrity website TMZ. The actor apologised for his conduct, and his conviction was expunged in 2009 after he completed all the terms of his sentence.