Mel Gibson arrested for drunken driving

[VainJane]

Mel Gibson arrested for drunken driving
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Oscar-winning director and actor Mel Gibson was arrested in Malibu for suspicion of drunken driving, an official said on Friday.
"He was arrested for suspicion of driving under the influence," said Los Angeles County Sheriff's spokesman Steve Whitmore.
Gibson, 50, whose 2004 film "The Passion of the Christ" was a smash hit, was stopped at 2:36 a.m. local time on Friday for speeding on the Pacific Coast Highway, and officers smelled alcohol on his breath. He was given a sobriety test, taken into custody and released later that morning after posting $5,000 bail.
Whitmore said Gibson was given a citation, and the matter will be reviewed by detectives to determine if drunken driving charges will be filed at a future date, Whitmore said.


Gibson's spokesman could not be reached for comment.
The actor rocketed to fame in the late 1970s in the movie "Mad Max" and scored huge box office hits playing a cop in the "Lethal Weapon" movies.
In 1995, he acted in and directed "Braveheart," about 13th-century Scottish rebel William Wallace. The movie earned 10 Oscar nominations and won five of the awards including directing for Gibson and best picture of the year.
Gibson used his own money to make "Passion," about the last hours in the life of Jesus Christ, because no Hollywood studio would back him. The 2004 film went on to be a major hit and gross more than $611 million at global box offices.


© Reuters 2006. All Rights Reserved.
http://today.reuters.com/news/newsarticle.aspx?type=entertainmentNews&storyid=2006-07-28T223804Z_01_N28396868_RTRUKOC_0_US-GIBSON.xml&src=rss

 

[VainJane]

http://today.reuters.com/news/newsarticle.aspx?type=entertainmentNews&storyid=2006-07-28T223804Z_01_N28396868_RTRUKOC_0_US-GIBSON.xml&src=rss


He looks like Jesus

 

[tifa]

Mad Max

He looks more like Sadam Hussain.

 

[fashionicon]

Ew, what is that picture??? 50? More like 70!

Mel, you've reallllly let yourself go. Let's go back to the "What Women Want" days when you were kind of hot for an old guy.

 

[Diorling]

He's so...

Crazy...


I LOVE THAT THIS HAPPENED...

 

[Anastasia]

I'm no fan of Mel's, and I HATE when people have a few drinks and think they can drive, endangering everyone else. But this sounds a little...strange to me. When I read the headline, I was all 'that jerk!' but something doesn't drive. Arrested for 'suspicion' of drunk driving? It will be reviewed at a later date to see if charges will be fired? If you fail your breathilizer, unless you're a politician, you WILL be arrested for driving under the influence, not the suspicion of it, and WILL face charges.

It sounds like he passed his breathilizer/sobriety test, but they still smelled alcohol, so they took him in anyway.

 

[lemeray]

Looks like he is going back to his alcoholic days...

 

[VainJane]

Arrested for 'suspicion' of drunk driving? It will be reviewed at a later date to see if charges will be fired? If you fail your breathilizer, unless you're a politician, you WILL be arrested for driving under the influence, not the suspicion of it, and WILL face charges.

It sounds like he passed his breathilizer/sobriety test, but they still smelled alcohol, so they took him in anyway.

I agree that it sounds strange that they didn't just book him. Maybe he called his lawyer and the lawyer is raising hell at the station--

I'm not quite sure how the system works but I think with things like DUI's and DWI's you can challenge the charges (i.e. have them reviewed by other officers, the court, etc.). And I think, maybe, that officers can exercise discretion and decide whether or not they want to file charges against someone. That's just a random guess though, so I could be wrong.

 

[tifa]

They always say suspicion.

 

[emma peel]

it's a sign... from god.

 

[zembla]

Mel just blew his career...well whatever was left of it: www.perezhilton.com

 

[sonjanicky29]

Mel just blew his career...well whatever was left of it: www.perezhilton.com

Somehow,i find it hard to believe what Perez wrote.

 

[VainJane]

^ I agree. As much as I love to believe random gossip, that PerezHilton article is just too unrealistic and crazy to be true.

 

[zembla]

The police report is at TMZ

 

[lunabella]

hmm, jebus never drove drunk. bad mel gibson, bad.

 

[sonjanicky29]

The police report is at TMZ

The police report is really fishy.This is supposed to be an "ongoing" investigation.Which means,TMZ wouldn't be able to get the police report until it was released by the POLICE department.If the cop gave it to them prematurly,he would be fired.What is sad about this,is the fact that now everyone will believe that Mel is a raving lunatic,even if this is proven wrong, all because an internet gossip site posted it.

 

[cosmogrl5]

Looks like he is going back to his alcoholic days...

He was an alcoholic?

Anywya, this story is quite shocking to me. I always thought that he was a nice, un-Hollywood guy with his head on straight, though quite frankly, I knew nothing about him. I always assumed him to be so. It makes me wonder about some of the other celebrities who I always thought were so wonderful!

Some of the comments he supposedly made are downright awful. He is at the point in his age and career where he could go down one of two paths: Dignified and respected like Harrison Ford has done...or drunk and always arrested like Nick Nolte. Looks like he is already driving down Nick's path....hopefully, he will turn around and come on back.

 

[TheGlassAngel]

Does it seem weird that every celeb seems to be in trouble lately?

 

[VainJane]

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Oscar-winning director and actor Mel Gibson apologized on Saturday for driving while drunk and for his "belligerent behavior" toward the deputy sheriffs who arrested him.
"I acted like a person completely out of control when I was arrested, and said things that I do not believe to be true and which are despicable," he said in a statement issued by his publicist.
Gibson, 50, was arrested in the early hours of Friday morning for speeding along the Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu, the beach town north of Los Angeles.
"I am deeply ashamed of everything I said, and I apologize to anyone who I have offended," Gibson said.


He did not explain the offensive comments, and a spokesman for the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department also declined to comment on Gibson's behavior when arrested.
Gibson, 50, whose 2004 film "The Passion of the Christ" was a smash hit, said he has "battled with the disease of alcoholism for all of my adult life and profoundly regret my horrific relapse."
He said he has already taken the steps necessary to ensure a return to health.
http://today.reuters.com/news/newsarticle.aspx?type=entertainmentNews&storyid=2006-07-30T001224Z_01_N29217714_RTRUKOC_0_US-GIBSON-ARREST.xml&src=rss

He's apologizing for saying things that are 'despicable'.....so maybe the TMZ report IS true?!

 

[Anastasia]

Sad At least he's taking responsibility and feels badly.

I wasn't aware they always said suspicion. I have both an uncle and cousin who faced charges - and were convicted, my cousin was also underage, and just had additional charges - and there was no suspicion in the wording. And when my sister was 15 she was charged with underage drinking, not the suspicion of it. My father SHOULD have been caught numerous times, but has been 'lucky'. Maybe the wording is different state to state.

My family has problems with alcohol...I know how it can wreck your life and not make you see what you are doing. But nothing excuses getting behind the wheel of a car, or acting in other, dangerous manners. And I also feel that people generally do not do or say anything alien to them while drunk, something it would never even cross their minds to do or say while sober...alcohol doesn't turn you into a stranger, it only loosens your inhibitions and frees what's already in there.