The Associated Press
LOS ANGELES -- An official police report on Mel Gibson's arrest on drunken driving charges substantiates claims that he made anti-Semitic remarks and threatened a deputy, a law enforcement official said Monday.
Meanwhile, Gibson's publicist confirmed to the Associated Press that the actor is participating in an ongoing program to deal with his alcoholism.
On Monday, Sheriff's Department officials sent prosecutors their case, which also says a tequila bottle was found in Gibson's car when he was pulled over on the Pacific Coast Highway.
Gibson had released a lengthy statement Saturday apologizing for saying "despicable" things to sheriff's deputies when he was arrested, but he did not elaborate. The entertainment Web site TMZ.com had reported that the sheriff's department was considering eliminating the anti-Semitic remarks from its official report.
The report forwarded to prosecutors cites Gibson as making disparaging comments about Jews, according to the law enforcement official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter.
The district attorney's office confirmed prosecutors had received the case and it was under review. A tentative arraignment date was set for Sept. 28.
A sheriff's spokesman Monday defended the department's handling of the case.
"In that case file will be (Gibson's) statement, will be our report, will be everything pertinent to his blood-alcohol level. We have done our job," sheriff's spokesman Steve Whitmore told reporters Monday at department headquarters. "We hope we've done it with not only professionalism and intelligence, but held to the highest standard of legal and moral imperative."
The Sheriff's Department, he said, was "convinced because of our investigation and because of his own self-illuminating statement that he will be convicted of driving under the influence."
In his statement, Gibson said he has struggled with alcoholism and taken steps "to ensure my return to health."
The actor was "participating in an ongoing program to deal with this," Gibson's publicist, Alan Nierob told The Associated Press on Monday. "The guy is trying to stay alive."
