When reading the about how the Los Angeles County Sheriff's deputies arrested actor Ryan O'Neal Sunday for allegedly assaulting his adult son with a handgun during an altercation Saturday, one should know that his son has had a history of alcohol and drug abuse. In short, deputies arrived at Ryan O'Neal's home at 12:30 a.m. on Saturday and determined he had assaulted his son, Griffin O'Neal, during a family dispute. Ryan O'Neal, 65, was accused of assault with a deadly weapon and negligent discharge of a firearm. He was released on a 50,000 U.S. dollar bond after five hours in custody. Sgt. Peter Charbonneau at the Malibu Lost Hills station said the weapon was a handgun but he did not know how many shots had been fired. Griffin O'Neal, 42, was not injured but a 22-year-old female friend of his suffered minor injuries, not from the gun, and was treated at a hospital. Griffin O'Neal is the son of O'Neal and his first wife, Joanna Moore. He is the brother of actress Tatum O'Neal.
Most importantly, the root of the altercation is Griffin O'Neal's past problems with substance abuse and the law. According to celebrity website TMZ.com, he served 18 days in jail for failing to do community service after a judge found him guilty of reckless boating in the 1986 accident that killed the eldest son of film director Francis Ford Coppola. He pleaded no contest to a 1989 drunken driving charge and in 1992 agreed to spend one year in drug rehabilitation after pleading no contest to charges he shot at his estranged girlfriend's unoccupied car, TMZ.com said.
What we can learn from this incident? Alcoholism is a progressive disease that harms family and friends as well as the afflicted. Griffin's disease is progressing, Ryan is reacting, and family and friends are suffering. Only detox, treatment, education, and rehabilitation can put this family back on track. The legal system will be the interventionist. Will treatment be the sentence?
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