Posted on Mon May 05, 2008 at 10:27:26 AM EST in NFL
More on: Bears, Cedric Benson, Austin, boat, arrest, drunk (all tags)

The moment tears began rolling down his face after being selected fourth overall in the 2005 NFL Draft, the Bears faithful began getting a sinking sensation in their guts. After Sunday, Chicagoans probably think even the name "Adam `Pacman' Jones" would have sounded better coming off the commissioner's lips.

Benson was arrested on Saturday night on an Austin lake after he failed a sobriety test while driving a boat, then failed another sobriety test on solid ground, refused to put on a life jacket and then resisted arrest to the point where officers were forced to pepper-spray him while practically dragging him to the patrol car. If Benson was just half as motivated in uniform then he might have more than 1,593 yards and 10 touchdowns in three friggin' years!

Of course, Cedric's story is completely different despite the fact that about 15 other people were on the boat and none were arrested. Oh, and none of those friends have stepped forward to support Benson's claims of police brutality. But it's still worth a shot.

"I was not intoxicated. There was alcohol on the boat, and others were enjoying themselves, but I wasn't drunk," he said. ...

The officer arrested Benson, who kept arguing and "continued to present himself as a threat," the LCRA said. The officer then pepper-sprayed him.

Benson tells a much different story: "Even after they pepper-sprayed me, I have no idea why they did that. I was cooperative. I asked them several times why they did that, and they didn't give me an answer."

Once the boat docked, Benson refused to leave the LCRA boat, authorities said. An LCRA officer and Travis County sheriff's deputies were "basically carrying/dragging him" to a car for transport to jail, the release said.

Again Benson gave a different account: "They kicked my feet out from under me and slammed my face down. They had a hose and were running it over my face. They were choking me and stuff, not with their hands but with the hose in my face. I couldn't breathe. I don't know if they did that because of the pepper spray, but I didn't ask them to put the hose in my face."

Benson said he declined a breath test once in custody on the advice of his lawyer, Brian Carney.

The former Longhorn has probably seen his last action in Chicago and he could spend up to six months in jail as a result of this little run-in with the law. A word of advice for the Kansas City Chiefs: Watch out for Jamaal Charles because in case you haven't noticed, Texas running backs are a strange breed.

Links:
[SunTimes.com]: Troubled waters
[WBBM780.com]: Cedric Benson Arrested, Alleges Police Abuse

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