Actor Haley Joel Osment ordered to attend Alcoholics Anonymous after ski resort arrest

LOS ANGELES – A judge has ordered American actor Haley Joel Osment to attend Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) 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.

The 37-year-old, who rose to fame as the child star of horror film The Sixth Sense (1999), was arrested at a ski resort in Mono County, California, in April.

Police footage of the arrest showed Osment refusing to answer questions from officers. He also asserted that he was being tortured and kidnapped by a Nazi and used an anti-Semitic slur while addressing an officer. Later, he apologised for his words and said he had experienced a blackout.

At a court appearance on June 2, a judge granted 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 AA meetings a week and meets 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 programme and a period of probation.

Mr David Anderson, the Mono County district attorney, said in a statement that his office disagreed with the judge’s decision, adding: “Based on Mr Osment’s prior driving under the influence conviction, as well as his slurs towards the arresting officer, my office did not believe diversion was appropriate.”

Osment 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 programme, criminal proceedings will be restarted.

He was charged with disorderly conduct and cocaine possession – both misdemeanours – 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 showed Osment, who appeared intoxicated, going limp when the officers tried to arrest him. “You’ll wish you treated me nicer,” he was heard saying in the video.

In a statement after the arrest, Osment said he was horrified by his own behaviour. “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.

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 apologise 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.”

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 AA meetings.

He will play a serial killer in the upcoming second season of the hit Netflix series Wednesday (2022 to present) that premieres on Aug 6. NYTIMES