I was gonna write something along the lines of “anyone who hangs out in the Warehouse District on purpose deserves to be harassed by the police”, but two boozy arrests in a month is no laughing matter for former UT RB Cedric Benson. While the circumstances surrounding the first arrest remain suspicious, last night’s encounter with the Austin PD seems all too typical of…well, at least half the motorists on that block at 3am on a Friday. From the Austin American Statesman’s Patrick George.
A month after being charged with boating while intoxicated on Lake Travis and resisting arrest, Chicago Bears running back Cedric Benson was arrested and charged with drunken driving in downtown Austin early Saturday, police said.
Austin police spokeswoman Veneza Aguinaga said Benson was driving his BMW at 5th and Colorado Streets between 3 and 4 a.m. Saturday when he was pulled over for a running a red light. After an officer had him perform a series of sobriety tests, Benson was arrested on suspicion of drunken driving, Aguinaga said. Benson later refused a breathalyzer and blood test, she said.
Benson was taken to the Travis County Jail. According to jail officials, he was released on bond about 9 a.m. Saturday.
Benson was in Austin for his mother’s birthday, according to his attorney, Sam Bassett. Bassett said Benson had a late dinner at Kenichi on Colorado Street with his girlfriend, and that he had two or three drinks over the course of several hours.
Bassett said Benson doesn’t believe he was intoxicated or impaired, and feels he passed the sobriety tests.
At the very least, Benson is guilty of terribly poor judgement. Kenichi? That place sucks.