Cedric Benson's court date set Due in court on same day Bears begin OTAs
By David Haugh | Tribune reporter 11:10 PM CDT, May 5, 2008 May 19 was already circled on
Cedric Benson's calendar because it marks the start of the Bears' organized team activities.
On Monday, the date took on greater significance.
Benson has been ordered to appear in front of Travis County Court Judge Elizabeth Earle at 9:30 a.m. that day in the Criminal Courts Building in Austin, Texas, to face charges of boating while intoxicated and resisting arrest stemming from an incident Saturday night.
Both charges are Class B misdemeanors punishable by six months in jail and/or a $2,000 fine. Benson, 25, denied being drunk, and his account of the incident varies greatly from the police version.
According to Benson, police pepper-sprayed him in the eyes without provocation and dragged him along the ground to the point he cried out for his mother, Jackie. But in an affidavit filed by the arresting officer with the Lower Colorado River Authority, Benson is described as cocky, combative and smelling of alcohol.
Benson is expected back at Halas Hall on Tuesday to resume voluntary workouts and tell his side of the story to coach
Lovie Smith, who Benson said was supportive during their initial conversation.
The Bears said Monday they had no further comment regarding Benson.
Benson's attorney Brian Carney, who spoke to the Tribune on Sunday night, reiterated his client's innocence in an interview Monday morning on WMVP-AM.
Carney told hosts Tom Waddle and Marc Silverman he hoped the case would be dismissed after the investigation is completed because of the heavy-handed way he believes police handled Benson.
"You want any client to be treated fairly," Carney said in the interview. "Someone who is a public figure, you don't want to be treated better than anyone else, but you don't want to be treated worse. What has happened in the past is [Benson] has been treated worse because there are more eyes, more attention on it. No one wants to admit they made a mistake."
Benson hasn't elicited much sympathy in Chicago, where many fans have used his football shortcomings and past immature acts as reasons to doubt him now. Carney spoke with Benson Monday morning and stressed that he didn't re-injure his surgically repaired ankle, as some had feared.
Physically, he's fine. Mentally, his recovery might take some time.
"It's demoralizing, it shakes you up," Carney said. "You have a lot of people coming to the conclusion that you have done something wrong, because all you have is the police reports and their version of what went on. Because of the fact that you haven't had any criminal prosecution, you are reluctant to say much."
The investigation is ongoing, Travis County Sheriff's Office spokesman Roger Wade said. Evidence could include videotape of the incident, he said.
Another source said that a witness videotaped part of the exchange between the officers and Benson and offered to sell the images to a TV station but was refused.
Wade added that if Benson maintains he was mistreated or abused by officers, as he claimed in interviews Sunday, then he should take official steps to document it.
"If he has any complaints, he should report them to our internal affairs unit," Wade said. "He's more than welcome to come down here and do so."
A spokesman for the Lower Colorado River Authority, whose officers conducted the routine safety check and arrested Benson, declined comment on Benson's allegations.
Around Austin, more skepticism was directed toward the boat police than Benson, a former Texas Longhorns star, if callers to sports-radio station
ESPN 1530 reflected local opinion. "Several boaters have called in and said the boat cops can be overbearing," host Chip Brown said in an e-mail.
Nonetheless, the incident muddies the waters for Benson's
NFL future.
If the Bears wait until after June 1 to cut Benson, they would save about $820,000 of the $3.365 million he counts against the 2008 salary cap—not that a team with $16.4 million in cap space has to worry about such details.
The NFL also has begun to look into the matter. That could result in a brief suspension or mandatory enrollment in the league's substance-abuse-monitoring program — or both.
But unless video surfaces to disprove Benson's account, the Bears figure to take the wait-and-see approach they have taken in similar situations in the past. Benson in his first three seasons has done things that could be considered immature, but not illegal.
Though finally acknowledging the underachieving nature of Benson's career over draft weekend, the Bears still would like to see Benson compete with rookie Matt Forte for the starting running back spot. Forte drew raves at the recently concluded mini-camp.
When Bears veterans and rookies officially convene for the first time for OTAs on May 19, the rookie from Tulane likely will get the first snap with the starting offense.
Benson will be busy playing defense in Texas.
dhaugh@tribune.com 
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