Ced Benson was arrested a couple of weeks ago in Austin, Texas for "boating while intoxicated".
Despite the fact that Benson (a former star for UT, and a top 5 draft pick by my Chicago Bears) is a Bear, I definitely don't consider myself a fan of his. I felt like the pick was the wrong move when the Bears made it a few years ago, and thus far Benson has done nothing to prove me wrong, averaging well under 4 yards per carry for his entire career.
Therefore, when I heard the news about his arrest, I immediately assumed the worst.
The first reports didn't look good for Benson. Police said that they pulled his boat over and that he was drunk and combative. He failed a sobriety test and refused to wear a life jacket. They asked him to come to shore for another sobriety test and he refused. He was argumentative and threatening, causing them to spray him with pepper spray and he was lead off in cuffs.
I admit that when I heard this version, I didn't doubt it, and instead figured that we were nearing the end of the Cedric Benson era in Chicago.
Bears coach Lovie Smith came out and stated his disappointment in Benson's behavior.
Then we heard from Cedric Benson for the first time. His take on events was vastly different from the story the police told.
He said that he was pulled over by the police (for the sixth consecutive time that he had taken his boat out on Lake Travis). He complied with their requests for a sobriety test, claiming that he was not at all drunk. He accompanied them to the shore where he asked what else he could do for them, at which point he was sprayed in the face completely unprovoked. The police then forced him to the ground and poured water in his face to wash out the pepper spray, but did it in a matter that caused Benson to choke as he was unable to breathe with the water splashing him full in the face.
He called for his mother (who was on the boat), but police kept him separated from the rest of his party. They told him they were arresting him, but instead of letting him walk himself to the police car, they took his legs out from under him with a baton and drug him to the car handcuffed.
Shortly after Benson's report was released, one of the witnesses from Benson's boat came forward with a very similar story. She told about how she called her parents to get them to call 911 to report Benson's mistreatment since she didn't think her phone had enough battery life to explain the situation to 911.
Then, another witness, this time not from Benson's boat, came forward corroborating Benson's account, claiming that any need to pepper spray was "ludicrous".
The fact that Benson's highly recognizable boat has been pulled over 6 out of the 6 times that he has taken it out on Lake Travis makes me realize that Cedric Benson has been unfairly targeted by the lake police.
After Benson's side of the story was heard (and corroborated by witnesses) the Bears general manager said that Cedric Benson would not be released because of this incident, but that he should have been more careful not to let himself be put in this position.
Normally, I like Jerry Angelo, but that is a horrible thing to say.
He has every right to enjoy a spring day on his boat on a public lake in a familiar setting (remember, he went to College here) without being harassed by police officials who clearly have it out for him.
There should be no negative comments made towards Benson in this situation at all. He is a victim and he shouldn't be chastised for it.
Sure, he hasn't lived up to what the Bears believed he would on the football field, but that is no reason not to be outraged by the ill treatment that he has received off of it.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment