Mel Gibson's arresting officer sues his police department

The LA cop who arrested Mel Gibson in 2006 following his drink driving and anti-Semitic rant is suing his employers, saying he has been discriminated against because he is Jewish.

Deputy James Mee says he was unjustly denied a promotion after the arrest, because of "religious discrimination and retaliation for plaintiff's religion and his report of anti-Semitic remarks by Gibson".

After Mee, who is Jewish, arrested the Hollywood star, Gibson told him, "F*****g Jews, the Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world."

Mee now claims Mel was a close friend of Sheriff Lee Baca at the time of the arrest.

He says Mel's ties to the department included carrying out a public service announcement for the sheriff. He was also a spokesman of the LA County Sheriff's Star Program, an initiative to help young people stay away from crime.

Mee also claims a colleague, Sgt Tracy Palmer, erased a videotape showing Mel's arrest.

It is alleged the video shows Mel screaming and pacing around his jail cell.

Mee also says he documented Mel's anti-Semitic tirade after the July 28, 2006, arrest but was ordered by his superiors to rewrite the report, taking out the offending remarks.

He also says he was targeted as the source of leaking the report to the media at the time, despite other deputies having access to the information.

The Sheriff's Department has denied acting on ethnicity or gender and that it has a duty to investigate who leaked the report, as it is a crime.