Benson arrested

[4th and 26]

Originally Posted by nerrad

Cut Him After June First JA!!! You Cut Tank, Unfortunately, So Cut This Bum

Tanks deserved to be cut for all the trouble that followed him.

[nerrad]

http://www.nbc5.com/news/16155362/de...?dl=mainclick#



AUSTIN, Texas -- Chicago Bears running back Cedric Benson was arrested in Texas on Saturday, charged with boating while intoxicated and resisting arrest, police said.


Cedric Benson denied the charges, NBC 5 reported.


According to police, Benson's boat was stopped on a random safety inspection on Lake Travis, a lake popular with boaters near Austin, Texas. Benson was given a field sobriety test on the officer's boat and failed the test, police said. According to a statement from police, Benson "presented himself as a threat to the officer" and argued about whether or not he would be taken to land to have a follow-up field sobriety test performed. He also refused to wear a life jacket, police said.


Benson was ultimately pepper-sprayed during his arrest, according to police in Travis County. He was arrested at about 11:30 p.m. and later bonded out of jail.


Benson, a former player at the University of Texas, was on his boat with about a dozen other people, according to police.


In a telephone interview with Benson, NBC 5 reporter Peggy Kusinski heard the Bears running back's side of the story.


Benson said he did not resist arrest and was not boating while intoxicated.


Benson said he and a dozen family members and friends, including his mother, took his 37-foot boat out for the second time this spring. And for the second time, he was pulled over by police, Benson said.


"We were in a cove with a lot of other boats filled with young people partying," Benson said. There was alcohol on board his boat but he was not drunk, Benson said. When police boarded to check if the boat met all safety standards, it did -- enough life jackets for everyone on board, working fire extinguisher and a proper license, Benson said.


"I get pulled over every time I take my boat out," Benson said. "It's Austin, Texas. They know me."


Benson said an officer asked him to board the police boat for an abbreviated sobriety test during which he recited the alphabet. Benson said he recited it without any mistakes. He said he was also asked to count forward and backward "at least 20 times." Benson said he kept asking the officers why they were doing this, while the police boat slowly drove away from where his own boat was parked.


Benson said that after the abbreviated sobriety test, the officer didn't charge him or say he'd failed the test, but that they wanted to take him in to land for more testing. "Why? I've passed every test," Benson said he asked the officer.


Benson said he was polite, even calling the officer "sir," and that he never cursed or yelled until the officer suddenly put down his flashlight and pepper sprayed him in the eyes.


At that point, Benson started yelling for his mother, but was so far away from his own boat no one could hear, Benson said.


With regard to the police claim that Benson refused to wear a life jacket, Benson said he was never offered one. He said police threw one over his head before departing the boat.


Benson said he was carried and dragged to a squad car once reaching land, but not because he was resisting officers. He said it was because his ankles and feet were kicked out from under him, and so he couldn't walk. Benson said he pleaded with police. "Please sir, let me just walk off the boat like a man," Benson said he told the officer.


Benson said he was repeatedly sprayed in the face with a water hose until he could no longer speak. Benson said he begged the officer to stop.


"I did nothing wrong; I didn't resist arrest, didn't curse and wasn't drunk," Benson told NBC 5.


Benson was released on bond at about 4 a.m. and is threatening a lawsuit. He said Bears coach Lovie Smith was supportive in their conversation Sunday, but he plans to return to Halas Hall this week to explain his side of the story and try to keep his job on the team.

End of article

[Ski-Whiz]

His side of the storm seems like he was a perfect angel...

hmm... Not sure. No doubt officers can be jack-asses... However usually there's a reason for it though.

I don't know about his side.. A lawsuit with evidence would change my mind.

[Dagan81]

What was it JFK, Jr., said about his cousins that could be applied to Benson's case? "Poster boy for bad behavior."

[MidwayMobster]

If the Bears trade him, who and what would they get for Benson?

[Don Imus]

Benson will rush for1,500 this year

[Sunbiz1]

I'm inclined to believe him to a certain degree, racial profiling is a popular sport for police officers in the State of Texas. If anyone watched 60 minutes last evening, you'll understand why I have made the above comment. Normally in a case such as this when there are 2 completely different versions of the story, the truth usually lies somewhere in the middle.

[Bearfanmike20]

What would you expect him to do.. own up??... LOL

laughable.. having accountability as a profesional athelete.... seriously.. .. lol

[Sunbiz1]

To play football either here or somewhere else. As for alleged charges, I'd lay odds on them eventually being dropped. Also, he needs a bigger boat...you can't have a dozen people on a 30 footer!! Actually you can, but it's too crowded.

Originally Posted by Bearfanmike20

What would you expect him to do.. own up??... LOL

laughable.. having accountability as a profesional athelete.... seriously.. .. lol

[dabears54]

Benson proclaims innocence, vows to "rise to the occasion"

Just got off the horn with Cedric Benson about 45 minutes ago.
He was emphatic that he was not drunk and did not resist arrest after officers from the Lower Colorado River Authority stopped his boat for a routine safety check just after 9 p.m. Saturday on Lake Travis, near Austin, Texas.
``I was not intoxicated,’’ Benson said. ``There was alcohol on the boat and others were enjoying themselves but I wasn’t drunk. It’s not like my boat was over the passenger limit or anything, either. It’s a 37-foot boat. Every time I go out there I get pulled over.’’


Benson said he was on the water in early April before the club’s voluntary offseason program began, and he was stopped then for a routine safety check. Asked if he had any idea why he’s seemingly targeted, he replied, ``I do.’’ He explained he’s a high-profile person in the area.
Benson boarded the LCRA boat and they put him through a battery of tests. According to Benson, he was cooperative the entire time and passed every test administered.
``You can’t give a sobriety test on boats because they’re in motion, they’re in the water and they’re rocking,’’ he said. ``I was on their boat and I still passed every test they gave me.’’
His account of events is vastly different than the one portrayed earlier in the day in a report by the LCRA. They assert Benson became a threat and had to be pepper sprayed. He said he remained cooperative, even after being subdued with pepper spray. He said once he reached shore he was tripped, had his face slammed into the ground and was choked with a hose being continuously run in his face. Benson said he declined to take a breath test once in custody at the advice of his attorney, Brian Carney.
He acknowledged the timing of the incident is not good in the wake of his rehabilitation from a broken leg. The franchise has said he might not be the answer at running back, and backed up those words by drafting Tulane’s Matt Forte in the second round. Benson is anxious to get back to work, saying he’s in the best shape of his professional career. He’s planning to return for voluntary offseason workouts on Tuesday after tending to matters Monday.
``I’m going to rise to the occasion like always,’’ he said.


Posted by Brad Biggs on May 4, 2008 10:57 PM

[Bearfanmike20]

Originally Posted by dabears54

``I’m going to rise to the occasion like always,’’ he said.

*thump*

(this is me.. right now)

so.. Ced.. where was that rising last year... the occasion was there??

[BULLITT]

...on a treadmill.

[MidwayMobster]

I live in Austin and there might be some truth to his story, there is a lot of racial police officers especially on the Lake since its mostly white people who boat on the weekends. I don’t believe he didn’t put up a fight, but those cops don’t like to be proven wrong.

[LachRawks]

There are three sides to every story- his, theirs, and the truth. He's been in trouble before and I have a bad feeling that this is another one of those 'it's everybody else's fault, not mine' type scenarios.

The "I'm going to rise to the occasion" gave me a good laugh first thing this morning.. that and the fact that one article was claiming he said that he was calling for his mother but she couldn't hear him. LMAO

[jnastorer]

I am believing him at this point. There is too much that can be proven wrong in his statemement if he DID NOT pass those tests. If he di not pass, then he will be in much hot water. If the police cannot produce the failed tests with certainty that they are Ced's, they are going to be in big trouble.