Cedric Benson arrested, alleges cop abuse
Bear will fight charges; says he didn't resist arrest, wasn't drunk
Cedric Benson fully intends to fight misdemeanor charges of boating while intoxicated and resisting arrest stemming from a Saturday night incident near Austin, Texas, during which police used pepper spray to detain him.
Lower Colorado River Authority police arrested the Bears running back, who played at the University of Texas in Austin, on Lake Travis during a random safety inspection. An LCRA spokesman said Benson, who failed a sobriety "float test" (an abbreviated version of a field sobriety test) on his 37-foot yacht, argued over taking a follow-up test on land and refused to put on a life jacket. LCRA officers said they attempted to arrest Benson at that time but that he refused to cooperate and was pepper-sprayed. He was booked at 11:24 p.m. Saturday at the Travis County Jail and was out early Sunday morning on $14,500 bond.
Benson denied the charges.
"There was no resistance on my part," Benson told the Tribune on Sunday night. "Was I drunk? No."
Benson said there was alcohol on his boat but that he was not intoxicated and the boat was stationary when police arrived. He said he fully cooperated with officers and that this was the sixth time he had been questioned by lake police in the year that he has owned the boat.
"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 said of Saturday's incident. "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 said by that time, he was far removed from the family and friends left on his boat, a group that included his mother.
"Nobody saw what he did to me," Benson said. "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."
The charges are punishable up to six months in jail and $2,000 each. No court date has been set. The BWI charge carries the same weight as a DWI in Texas.
Benson's lawyer, Brian Carney, said he believes the police were unjust in dealing with Benson.
"Right now it's one-sided, and I would like to know exactly what they're basing their allegations on," Carney said. "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. 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."
Bears coach Lovie Smith said he wanted to get the complete story before commenting on Benson's status.
"I haven't had a chance to speak with Cedric yet, but anytime we're talking about one of our players getting arrested, you're disappointed in it," Smith said at the conclusion of rookie mini-camp Sunday afternoon. "What we're going to do from here, I'll go back and try to get as much information as I possibly can and go from there."
A spokesman for the NFL said the league was aware of the situation and is investigating.
Benson said he talked to Smith on Sunday afternoon.
"He knows I'm going to take care of my business," Benson said. "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, who had his 2007 season cut short by a broken ankle, was in jeopardy of losing his starting spot heading into the '08 season. The fourth overall pick of the 2005 draft struggled through his first three seasons with the Bears, failing to post a 1,000-yard campaign while averaging just 3.8 yards per carry. Benson averaged a career-low 3.4 yards per carry last season, finishing with 674 yards on 196 carries with four touchdowns in 11 games started. He missed the final five games with the ankle injury.
The Bears sent a clear sign that they wanted more production from their running back by selecting Tulane's Matt Forte in the second round of this year's draft. Forte's ability to get to the outside and catch the ball out of the backfield were dimensions the Bears missed with Benson in the lineup, although Benson showed flashes against Seattle and Denver last season.
"I have no control over what they decide to do," Benson said of the Bears drafting Forte.
"If they want to bring a running back in, OK, no problem. I love competition."
Benson was arrested twice during his college days. He was arrested for marijuana possession in May 2002 in his hometown of Midland, Texas. The charges were dropped when he passed a drug test and other evidence surfaced to clear him.
In October 2003, he was arrested for criminal trespassing after kicking down an apartment door in Austin. He said he believed his $15,000 plasma television was inside. He received an eight-day jail sentence but never went behind bars because of time served on the day of the arrest, good behavior, and the lack of available beds at the local prison.
Benson said he intends to be back in Chicago on Tuesday. He said he is about 98 percent healed from the ankle injury. But his latest off-the-field battle might leave a scar.
"This is tough to deal with because you're guilty until proven innocent," he said. "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."
