Former Longhorn Cedric Benson not indicted on DWI charges

Austin, TX

Former Chicago Bears and Texas Longhorns running back Cedric Benson will not face charges over his two alcohol-related arrests in the Austin area.

Defense attorney Sam Bassett says a Travis County grand jury declined to indict Benson. He says the grand jury reviewed the charges of boating while intoxicated, resisting arrest and driving while intoxicated, then decided there was no probable cause in the cases.

Bassett says the former player is "elated."

"Cedric is grateful to all who have supported him," Bassett says. "It was particularly difficult for him to lose his job that he loved with the Bears. Now that he has successfully defended his character, he is eager to get back on the field and contribute to a winning team. More importantly, he intends to demonstrate that he is worthy of being the role model for many young people in his community. He has learned much from this ordeal."

Benson on May 3 was stopped while on Lake Travis and charged with boating while intoxicated and resisting arrest.

He was pulled over in downtown Austin on June 7 and arrested on a drunken driving charge.

The Bears cut Benson after the second arrest.

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Cedric Benson arrested for DWI, second time in little over a month

Austin, TX

Austin police arrested former University of Texas football player and current Chicago Bears running back Cedric Benson for Driving While Intoxicated Saturday morning.

This is the second time in two months the former Longhorn has been arrested for an alcohol-related offense.

Austin police said they pulled over the 25-year-old after he ran a red light downtown. Authorities said Benson failed a field sobriety test.

Benson was held at the Travis County jail and was released after paying a $2,000 bond.

In Chicago Saturday, Bears general manager Jerry Angelo said “disappointment” is a word the team has had to use too often in connection with their former first-round pick of the 2005 draft.

On May 4, he was arrested for Boating While Intoxicated on Lake Travis and resisting arrest. He's said that neither of those charges are true.

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Video released of Cedric Benson being booked

Austin, TX

Authorities released security video Thursday of former University of Texas running back Cedric Benson at the Travis County Jail.

The footage is from last weekend after Benson was arrested and charged with boating while intoxicated and resisting arrest on lake Travis.

CBS 42 News has also obtained a copy of the Chicago Tribune sports page that features a picture taken on Benson's boat.
Benson was arrested last Saturday by officers with the Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA). He reportedly failed a field sobriety test, became combative with the officers, and was pepper-sprayed.

About two hours after Benson's thirty-foot-long boat was stopped for a safety check, he was booked.

According to a release about his arrest Benson was argumentative, refused to cooperate, and even had to be dragged out of his boat to be arrested.

But once he got to the jail, according to a review of the security video cameras inside, Cedric Benson appeared to be a model prisoner.

Officers say Benson had bloodshot eyes, a strong odor of alcohol and slurred speech.

In the video you can see Benson entering the jail complex, wearing a white t-shirt and blue swimming trunks. He did not have to wait in the "bull-pen" area along with everyone else.

From there he was taken to an intake unit for processing, where he was forced to wait his turn to be searched and patted down.

It's all normal procedure according to the Travis County Sheriff's Office. The next stop for Benson was the DWI room. That's where he reportedly refused to take a breathalyzer test but was allowed to change from his swimming trucks into standard issue jail pants.

He was then fingerprinted and photographed as part of the normal process of being arrested and taken to a nurse's station for observation.

Nearly four hours later, about 3 a.m., Benson was freed from jail after posting more than $14,000 bond.

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Cedric Benson says he's innocent of DUI/DW while boating

Austin, TX

Former Longhorn running back Cedric Benson said he is innocent.

He was charged with Boating While Intoxicated (BWI) charges along with the resisting arrest charges on Lake Travis Saturday night.

Benson was arrested after a Lower Colorado River Authority officer said he failed a sobriety test.

Benson was operating a 30 foot boat with 15 passengers on it when he was randomly checked for a safety inspection.

Police said they used pepper spray to get Benson to a Travis County deputy's car.

His lawyer, Brian Carney, said the accusations are false.

"They certainly didn't have a problem moving him from his boat to their boat," Carney said. "They didn't have any alarm about that and taking him off to the dark to conclude these test."

Benson was released from Travis County jail early Sunday on a more than $14,000 bond.

A BWI carries the same weight as a Driving While Intoxicated (DWI) charge.

Benson was the fourth pick in the 2005 draft.

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Cedric Benson arrested on boating DUI charge

Lake Travis, TX

Chicago Bears running back Cedric Benson was arrested for operating a boat while intoxicated on Saturday. According to reports, Cedric Benson failed the sobriety test while operating a 30-foot boat, then resisted arrest and had to be pepper-sprayed and dragged by the officers ashore. The incident happened on Lake Travis (Texas) Saturday night, when his boat with 15 other passengers was stopped by a Lower Colorado River Authority officer for a random safety inspection. "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," was the statement made by the local authorities. The charges are class B misdemeanors, each punishable by up to six months in jail and a fine, Cedric Benson was released from jail on Sunday on a $14,500 bond.

This is not the first time the Chicago Bears running back gets in trouble. In 2002, misdemeanor drug and alcohol charges against him were dropped, but in 2003 Benson was sentenced to eight days in jail for trespassing after forcing his way into an apartment to look for a reported stolen TV.

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