A judge has ordered the actor Haley Joel Osment to attend Alcoholics Anonymous meetings and therapy sessions for the next six months as part of a deal to dispose of charges of public intoxication and cocaine possession after he insulted the police.
Mr. Osment, who rose to fame as the child actor of “Sixth Sense” in 1999, was arrested in April at a ski resort in Mono County, Calif. Police footage of the arrest showed Mr. Osment refusing to answer questions from officers. He also asserted that he was being tortured and kidnapped by a “Nazi” and used an antisemitic slur while addressing an officer. Later he apologized for his words and said he had experienced a blackout.
At a court appearance on Monday, a judge granted Mr. Osment’s request for a one-year diversion from prosecution, saying he would dismiss the charges if over the next six months the actor obeys all laws, attends three A.A. meetings a week and meets with his therapist twice a week.
Diversion is an alternative procedure in criminal cases in many states that allows certain defendants to avoid prosecution and a criminal record by agreeing to complete a rehabilitation program and a period of probation.
David Anderson, the Mono County district attorney, said in a statement that his office disagreed with the judge’s decision. “Based on Mr. Osment’s prior D.U.I. conviction, as well as his slurs toward the arresting officer, my office did not believe diversion was appropriate,” Mr. Anderson said.
A representative for Mr. Osment did not respond to a request for comment on Wednesday. He is scheduled to reappear in court in January, when the court will review his compliance with the orders. If he does not complete the diversion program, criminal proceedings will be restarted.
Mr. Osment, who voices Sora in the videogame “Kingdom Hearts” and plays a serial killer in Season 2 of the Netflix series “Wednesday,” was charged with disorderly conduct and cocaine possession — both misdemeanors — after local officers confronted him in a parking area at the Mammoth Mountain Ski Area in eastern California, according to the Mono County District Attorney’s Office.
Police bodycam videos show Mr. Osment, who appears intoxicated, going limp when the officers tried to arrest him.
“You’ll wish you treated me nicer,” Mr. Osment is heard saying in the video.
In a statement after this arrest, Mr. Osment said that he was horrified by his own behavior. “Had I known I used this disgraceful language in the throes of a blackout, I would have spoken up sooner,” he said, according to The New York Post.
Mr. Osment, who lost his home in the devastating wildfires that swept through Los Angeles in January, added that his recent troubles were no excuse for using “disgusting” language.
“From the bottom of my heart, I apologize to absolutely everyone that this hurts,” he said. “What came out of my mouth was nonsensical garbage — I’ve let the Jewish community down and it devastates me.”
Mr. Osment was previously arrested in 2006 and pleaded no contest to one count of driving under the influence of alcohol and one count of possession of marijuana, according to People. He was sentenced to 60 hours of probation and to attend A.A. meetings.
Derrick Bryson Taylor is a Times reporter covering breaking news in culture and the arts.
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