Officer who arrested Mel Gibson to sue police department

The US sheriff's deputy who arrested Mel Gibson for drunken driving in 2006 sued his department, claiming he has been ostracised by colleagues since the incident.

Deputy James Mee sued the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.

The lawsuit claims the department discriminated against Mr Mee, who is Jewish, on numerous occasions since Gibson's arrest.

His filing states he was required to remove references to anti-Semitic slurs uttered by the actor-director and was repeatedly passed over for promotions in the agency.

Sheriff's spokesman Steve Whitmore denied the lawsuit's allegations and said it does not tell the whole story.

The lawsuit's filing was first reported by celebrity website TMZ.com.