OFFICIAL: SHERIFF DIDN'T AID MEL DECISIONS MADE AT LOCAL STATION.

Byline: TROY ANDERSON and LISA M. SODDERS Staff Writers

A preliminary investigation found that the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department followed policy in the DUI arrest of Mel Gibson, officials said Tuesday, while the actor admitted to making anti-Semitic remarks and specifically apologized to the Jewish community.

Michael Gennaco, a former federal prosecutor who heads the Office of Independent Review, said his inquiry determined that Gibson's arrest about 2:30 a.m. Friday complied with department regulations and that the appropriate information had been turned over to the District Attorney's Office for review.

But he also said he had not determined why the report contained both a face sheet, giving the basics of the arrest, and a supplement with handwritten details of Gibson's anti-Semitic tirade.

``Why was the report formatted so there was a preliminary and supplemental report?'' Gennaco said during a news conference.

Gibson, meanwhile, issued a statement through his publicist specifically expressing regret for anti-Semitic comments and asking to meet with Jewish leaders.

``There is no excuse, nor should there be any tolerance, for anyone who thinks or expresses any kind of anti-Semitic remark,'' said Gibson, who purportedly is in the Passages alcohol-treatment center in Malibu. He had avoided the term ``anti-Semitic'' in an apology the day after the arrest.

``I am in the process of understanding where those vicious words came from during that drunken display, and I am asking the Jewish community, whom I have personally offended, to help me on my journey through recovery.''

While Jewish leaders welcomed Gibson's comments, some took a wait-and-see approach, saying the celebrity's future actions will indicate the sincerity of his remorse.

``He needs to embark on a serious introspection on how to end that feeling about Jews,'' said Rabbi Marvin Hier, founder and dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Los Angeles.

``He's an intelligent man -- there are places to visit, books to read -- where it's not a planned event by his publicist.

``He will know and we will know when he is serious about his rehabilitation. If he is serious and really does that, he will not find the Jewish community wanting.''

Sheriff's Deputy James Mee stopped Gibson, 50, after he reportedly was clocked driving 87 mph in a 45-mph zone on Pacific Coast Highway. Authorities said Gibson had an open bottle of tequila in the vehicle and failed a field-sobriety test, with a blood-alcohol level of 0.12 percent.

According to the celebrity Web site TMZ.com, Mee wrote in his arrest report that Gibson became belligerent, tried to flee and went into an anti-Semitic rant, claiming, ``The Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world.''

The Sheriff's Department's release on the Gibson case, however, said he had been taken into custody ``without incident,'' and there was no mention of an attempt to evade arrest or an anti-Semitic outburst.

Gennaco said while Sheriff Lee Baca was notified Friday after Gibson's arrest, preliminary findings suggest that the sheriff did not order commanders at the Lost Hills-Malibu station to modify or sanitize the report.

``The question was, Who made the call as to why this report was bifurcated?'' Gennaco said. ``The answer is, based on information I have to date, that was a station-level decision.''

Baca declined to say what his role was in the Gibson case.

``My comments don't matter in this case,'' Baca said. ``What matters is that the department has done a good job. The deputy did the right thing. He made an arrest of a celebrity. The celebrity is going to go to court and face justice.''

The District Attorney's Office has the case and is still determining whether or what charges to file against Gibson, a spokeswoman said.

County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky said he asked Gennaco to investigate the incident to determine whether celebrities get preferential treatment.

``You shouldn't have one set of rules for the average man and woman in the county and another set of rules for people who are well known,'' Yaroslavsky said. ``My e-mails are busting my computer on this issue. A lot more people are writing to me about the appearance of uneven treatment than they are about what he said.''

Supervisor Yvonne Brathwaite Burke said she'd like Gennaco to investigate whether it's a matter of policy for the department to write supplemental reports that are provided to the public.

``These are issues we need to find out,'' Burke said. ``If there is a difference in terms of whether the person arrested is Mel Gibson or a member of the public, we need to find out.''

Meanwhile, other Jewish leaders indicated most are willing to accept Gibson's plea for forgiveness.

``This is the apology we had sought and requested. We are glad that Mel Gibson has finally owned up to the fact that he made anti-Semitic remarks, and his apology sounds sincere,'' said Abraham H. Foxman, national director of the Anti-Defamation League.

``Once he completes his rehabilitation for alcohol abuse, we will be ready and willing to help him with his second rehabilitation to combat this disease of prejudice.''

Rabbi David Baron of Temple of the Arts in Beverly Hills sent Gibson a letter Tuesday inviting him to speak on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement.

In a telephone interview from Barcelona, Spain, where he is on vacation, Baron said many in his 1,500-member congregation -- which he claims has a large number of entertainment moguls -- are suspicious of Gibson's professed remorse.

``They feel he's a hard-core anti-Semite,'' Baron said. ``They were very skeptical about his being genuine.

``My response is: Better a repentant anti-Semite than an unrepentant anti-Semite, especially if that person takes concrete steps to reform their behavior.''

Rabbi Harold Schulweis of Valley Beth Shalom in Encino said that, ``assuming that his contrition is genuine,'' he would be delighted to meet with Gibson. ``He can use his celebrity in a constructive and healing fashion, and he can be an instrument of kindness and gentility, which, I think, will not only honor his faith, but make him a much happier man.''

Rabbi Steven Jacobs, founding rabbi of Temple Kol Tikvah in Woodland Hills, said he also believes the Jewish community can help Gibson, but noted that Gibson's problems extend beyond his anti-Semitism.

``We had better not forget what a drunken driver is capable of,'' Jacobs said. ``This man could have killed somebody. Going down PCH at 87 mph? We wouldn't be talking as much about the Jewish issue if he had maimed or killed someone.''

troy.anderson(at)dailynews.com

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