Cedric Benson and the Fuzz
HarveyCanal
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From espn...
From the Austin American-Statesman...Bears' Benson says BWI, resisting arrest charges unfoundedESPN.com news servicesUpdated: May 5, 2008, 8:12 PM ETComment Email Print Lovie Smith Is Disappointed With Cedric BensonAUSTIN, Texas -- Chicago Bears running back Cedric Benson was charged with boating while intoxicated after failing a sobriety test and resisting arrest that required officers to use pepper spray before dragging him ashore Saturday night, according to police. If found guilty, Benson faces up to six months in jail and $2,000 for each Class B misdemeanor. Benson is scheduled to appear in Travis County Court on May 19. In Texas, a BWI charge carries the same weight as a DWI.The former Texas Longhorn, however, said he was not drunk and did not resist arrest."I was not intoxicated," Benson told the Chicago Sun-Times. "There was alcohol on the boat and others were enjoying themselves, but I wasn't drunk." "They gave me a field sobriety test, told me to say my ABCs and told me to count from 1 to 4 up and down," Benson told the Chicago Tribune. "I'm thinking, I passed all the tests, did everything right. Then the officer told me we needed to go to land to take more tests. I politely asked him why we needed to go to land to take more tests when I took every test. Then he sprayed me with mace, on his boat. "I'm not handcuffed. I'm not under arrest. I'm not threatening him. I'm not pushing him. I'm not touching him. And he sprays me right in my eye." Benson was released from jail early Sunday on a $14,500 bond. He said in the year he has owned the boat, he has been questioned by lake police six times, according to the Tribune. Benson was operating the boat with 15 family members and friends aboard when he was stopped by a Lower Colorado River Authority officer for a random safety inspection. He failed a field sobriety test on the officer's boat and was uncooperative when the officer tried to take him ashore, the authority said."When Benson did not pass the test, he 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 on land and refused to put on a life jacket," the authority said in a statement. The officer had to use pepper spray to subdue Benson, a move the running back doesn't understand. "Even after they pepper-sprayed me, I have no idea why they did that. I was cooperative," Benson told the Sun-Times. "I asked them several times why they did that and they didn't give me an answer."Benson then refused to leave the officer's boat and authorities had to drag him to a car to be taken to the Travis County jail, the authority said. Benson's account differs. He told the Tribune that he was not near his family when the police restrained him."Nobody saw what he did to me," Benson told the newspaper. "I started screaming for my mother to come. That's when they put me under arrest. And the officer threw a life jacket over my head."Once we got to land, the Travis County police grabbed me and kicked my feet from under me. So I landed on my back while I was handcuffed. They held me down and held the water hose over my face. I couldn't breathe, I'm choking, I'm begging the cops, 'Please stop. Please stop.' Then they picked me up and dragged me backward toward their car. And I'm still being polite, asking them, 'Sir, could you please allow me to walk like a man to your cop car?' They just kept dragging me on." [/b]Chicago coach Lovie Smith said he's still trying to figure out exactly what happened."... any time we're talking about one of our players getting arrested, you're disappointed in it," Smith said Sunday at the end of the Bears' three-day rookie minicamp in Lake Forest, Ill.Bears officials said general manager Jerry Angelo was out of town Sunday and unavailable to comment."Right now it's one-sided, and I would like to know exactly what they're basing their allegations on," Benson's lawyer, Brian Carney, told the Tribune. "It's very, very early. And we still haven't had a chance to evaluate what exactly they think that they have."Those allegations are untrue," Carney added. "I think it's a shame that they proceeded the way they did. I can tell you right now that we're going to resolve this. We're going to work through it. And we're going to maintain our position that this was inappropriate and that he's not guilty of any of these things. Cedric was extremely cooperative with these officers. He complied. He performed their tests that they asked him to do."A spokesman for the NFL said the league was aware of the situation and is investigating, according to the Tribune. Benson, who said he plans to return to Chicago on Tuesday, told the Tribune he talked to Smith on Sunday afternoon."He knows I'm going to take care of my business," Benson told the newspaper. "I always handle anything that I'm dealt with. He just stressed the fact that whenever anything like this comes up to call him first."Benson told the Tribune he is about 98 percent healed from the ankle injury that ended his season in 2007. "This [arrest] is tough to deal with because you're guilty until proven innocent," Benson told the newspaper. "My name is blasted out there like I was fighting these police officers or something. That totally was not the deal. I'm not stupid."Benson has had legal problems before.He was sentenced to eight days in jail in 2003 for a misdemeanor trespassing charge after forcing his way into an apartment to look for a reported stolen TV. In 2002, misdemeanor drug and alcohol charges against him were dropped.Benson rushed for more than 5,500 yards and 64 touchdowns at the University of Texas, going for 1,000 yards in four straight seasons.The 25-year-old has done little since the Bears took him with the fourth pick of the 2005 draft.As a rookie he didn't beat out Thomas Jones and rushed for 272 yards in nine games. He was more effective the next season while sharing time with Jones, going for six touchdowns and 647 yards.Last year, Benson took over as the featured back after Jones was traded. He rushed for 674 yards, four touchdowns and 3.4 yards a carry before going on injured reserve in November.In three years with the Bears, Benson has rushed for 1,593 yards and 10 touchdowns, averaging 3.8 yards a carry. He's also missed 13 games.Information from The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Bears' Benson plans to fight charges By ANDREW SELIGMAN AP Sports WriterCHICAGO ??? Chicago Bears running back Cedric Benson believes officers used excessive force against him and plans to fight charges he operated a boat while intoxicated and resisted arrest on a Texas lake over the weekend."He denies that he was intoxicated," attorney Brian Carney said Monday. "He denies that he resisted arrest."Benson is scheduled to appear in Travis County Court on May 19 to face charges stemming from an incident Saturday night.Benson failed a sobriety test while operating a 30-foot boat on Lake Travis near Austin and resisted arrest before being hit with pepper spray, Travis County Sheriff's Department spokesman Roger Wade said Sunday.He was released from jail early Sunday on a $14,500 bond. The charges are class B misdemeanors, each punishable by up to six months in jail and a $2,000 fine.Benson's version of what happened is drastically different from the police's description."There was no resistance on my part," Benson told the Chicago Tribune. "Was I drunk? No."[/b]Police say Benson was oper
ating the boat with 15 passengers when a Lower Colorado River Authority officer stopped him for a random safety inspection. He failed a field sobriety test on the officer's boat and was uncooperative when the officer tried to take him ashore, the authority said.Benson argued whether he would go to land for a follow-up field sobriety test and refused to put on a life jacket, and the officer had to use pepper spray to subdue him, the authority said. He refused to leave the officer's boat and had to be dragged to a car to be taken to the Travis County jail, the authority said.Carney acknowledged his client owned the boat, but he questioned whether Benson was behind the wheel and wondered why officers felt threatened."Is he going to jump in the lake and swim away?" Carney said. "You just swim into the night? You start the boat and take him over there."Carney said Benson was "completely compliant" and even said "thank you very much" after he completed the sobriety test. He said Benson then told them he wanted to go back to his boat.Carney added Benson did nothing "aggressive" until after he was pepper sprayed, when he started screaming for his mother and the boat. He said officers threw his client to the ground and poured water on him to wash away the spray, causing Benson to choke."They might as well have been waterboarding him," Carney said.The Bears declined comment on Monday.A day earlier, coach Lovie Smith said he was "disappointed" by the news."I haven't had a chance to speak with Cedric yet, but any time we're talking about one of our players getting arrested you're disappointed in it," he said Sunday at the end of the Bears' three-day rookie minicamp in Lake Forest.This wasn't Benson's first run-in with the law.He was sentenced to eight days in jail in 2003 for a misdemeanor trespassing charge after forcing his way into an apartment to look for a reported stolen TV. In 2002, misdemeanor drug and alcohol charges against him were dropped.The Bears took Benson with the fourth pick in the 2005 draft after he rushed for more than 5,500 yards and 64 touchdowns at the University of Texas. But instead of developing into a star, the 25-year-old has been plagued by injuries and alienated teammates with blunt comments since arriving in Chicago.As a rookie backing up Thomas Jones, he rushed for 272 yards in nine games. He was more effective the next season while sharing time with Jones, going for six touchdowns and 647 yards, but took a big step backward last season after the Bears traded away Jones and made him the featured back.Benson rushed for 674 yards, four touchdowns and 3.4 yards a carry before going on injured reserve with a broken ankle in November.In three years with the Bears, Benson has rushed for 1,593 yards and 10 touchdowns, averaging 3.8 yards a carry. He's also missed 13 games. And the Bears had already made it clear their patience was wearing thin by drafting Tulane running back Matt Forte in the second round.
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Boo hoo...
Rashaan Salaam -> Curtis Enis -> Anthony Thomas -> Cedric Benson