Mel Gibson’s DUI Expunged

By Morgan Brickley

Famous actor Mel Gibson recently had his drunken driving conviction expunged, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Gibson was pulled over back in July 2006 by a sheriff’s deputy on the Pacific Coast Highway in Los Angeles, Calif.

Gibson was driving his Lexus Sedan over 85 mph. He was given a breathalyzer test and his BAC content was at 0.12 percent – the legal limit is 0.08 percent.

According to CNN, Gibson was charged with a misdemeanor of drunken driving and an open container of alcohol in his vehicle. The open container charge is considered an infraction of the California Vehicle Code.

This was Gibson’s first offense, which is why he was able to expunge his record – or remove the DUI from his record.

He was eligible to expunge it from his record after he completed the terms of his probation. Gibson attended alcohol anonymous meetings, appeared in public service announcements and paid $1,300 in fines.

After the incident, the celebrity Web site TMZ posted Gibson’s arrest report. The report shows that Gibson did not go peacefully with the officer at the time of his arrest. He allegedly had an obscene outburst and tried to flee from the arresting officer, and then threatened the officer several times.

According to CNN, Gibson also made racial slurs, which became very public after his DUI arrest.

He stated, “The Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world.“ He then continued to ask the deputy if he was Jewish. This one night of drunken rowdiness may be expunged from his record, but not from the public eye.

CNN also reported that Gibson later released a statement after he made the comments: “I want to apologize specifically to everyone in the Jewish community for the vitriolic and harmful words that I said to a law enforcement official the night I was arrested on a DUI charge.”

He continued to state he blurted the comments out in a moment of insanity.

After Gibson’s arrest, people speculated he would get “special” treatment being a famous star, but an independent review board did find the sheriff’s department handled Gibson’s arrest “in accordance with its policies and practices.”