Cedric Benson Arrested

I'm looking forward to seeing the video of this. I'm guessing there were several boats in Devil's Cove on Saturday. Probably more than one video camera or camera-phone present.
 
I dont see how anyone can be that convinced one way or the other here. Lots of cops profile people, abuse their power, target rich/famous people, and act like little nazis - and plenty of people get drunk and threaten cops and act like they dont have to abide by the rules. I dont see how anyone in this thread that wasnt there can really even begin to take sides on this right now.
 
Wasn't there, don't know the details, hate to pre-judge.

But when all these "misunderstandings" keep happening to the same guy ... well, where there's smoke there's at least a little bit of fire.
 
so, why didn't the cops just ask "is there anyone sober enough to drive this boat home?" Instead, they cause this ruckus. I mean obviously, someone was sober enough to drive, right? Or did the cops just make their trophy arrest and then say "hey, one of you can drive, right?

So, did they do their due diligence and make sure someone can boat home? And if they did, why not just say "you drive, keep your friend out of trouble."
 
LE is authorized to board to do a water safety check. Only TPWD GW can check for wildlife law enforcent in addition. Both may enforce the violation of any law discovered in the course of their duties. But that does not mean the cops can search your boat - unless it is for the purposes of enforcing the water safety act or wildlife violations. I.e., they could look in a cooler or bait well for undersized trout but not in a cigarette pack in your shirt pocket - absent an independent legal reason to do so.

One must "operate" a motor vehicle or watercraft to be guilty (note: I did not say "arrested for") of D/BWI. I have defended many people (wrongly) arrested for DWI based on a lack of proof of "operating" whcih means to "affect the functioning of the vehicle" such car is on + foot on gas/brake, hand on gearshft or steering wheel, etc. "Actual physical control" may be relevant to a proceeding to suspend the DL in an Administrative License Revocation (ALR) hearing for BT failure or refusal, but it does not apply to the criminal case.

I have also defended many individuals for Resisting Arrest. I would say maybe half of them were wrongfully arrested for "contempt of cop" by not going along peacefully but not "using force directed at the officer" as required by Texas law.

When I read the report, I noted a conspicuous absence of "operating" and "force directed at the officer."

I also note that the officer is an LCRA officer. I wonder (as I often do) about the quality of his DWi SFST skills.

I note that Benson is a young rich black male in Austin. I have read Ced's comments about the incident.

Given the totality of the circumstances, I woudl not be surprised to find out this is yet another instance of heavy handed law enforcement.

Or it may just be Ced being Ced.
 
B2 93- Thanks for providing us with some sort of legal understanding about all of this. I cannot wait for all of the facts to come out of all of this. I truly think that although Ced may not be totally innocent in the situation, he isnt guilty of the all of the crimes that he is being charged with, specifically the resisting arrest charge and I would even argue with the BWI charge as well.
 
And yet the cops still let someone drive off with it? Was he likely drinking as well? Did he have experience driving boats?


guess it could be worse. Ced could've had a machine gun on the boat.
 
Not sure what to think here. Like many others, I have been hailed leaving Devil's Cove for safety checks more than once, especially early in the boating season. There tends to be no rhyme or reason, as to who they "pull over", but having a loaded or flashy boat sure does not help avoid this. By and large, these encounters have been smooth, as they simply ask to count the number of certified life jackets and see that you have a fire extinguisher.

That said, I can certainly imagine they take plenty of abuse from drunks on boats all day long. And, I can see a scenario where they would get a little excited to have Cedric Benson giving them grief. All of that said, I can not imagine a scenario where they would need to pepper spray someone on a boat who was not threatening physical harm to someone else.
 
You don't understand, IATW.
This cop pulled up & shouted out, "any current or ex UT players on this boat?"
So this cop knew exactly who he was dealing with right off the bat.
 
I don't know exactly what happened on that boat, nobody here does. I will say this though, there is no way in hell that I'd trust the cop's account of the situation. I have known way too many people that have been screwed over by cops.

Just off the top of my head:

About 6 months ago a friend was pulled over. He had not been drinking so he submitted to the field sobriety test. The cop said he failed. He was arrested and had his DL suspended. 3 months and several thousand dollars in lawyer fees later the case was dismissed.

A couple of years ago a friend was pulled over. The cop said he smelled weed and searched the car. He found a container that he said contained weed. My friend asked to see it as he was sure there was no weed in the car. The cop refused and arrested him. About a year and several thousand dollars in lawyer fees later the case was dismissed because, as it turns out, the 'weed' in the container was actually fuzz from carpet.

I have several more stories just like the ones above.
 
shotgun,

I am with you. Again, I am not saying Benson is innocent, I just don't trust cops anymore. I am not lumping them all together, but things have gotten out of control when it comes to cops abusing power when pulling people over. It's an epidemic that is rarely talked about. Many on here that have never been affected by this epidemic will say "where there is smoke there is fire" but I will tell you that this is not always true. I have too many stories and friends that have been pulled over, mistreated by the cops, and then forced to hire a lawyer just to tell their story and then later have the case dropped. It's total BS what's going on in Austin right now.
 
Yea, my daughter got pulled over the other night. The tail light on her car was out. The Travis County deputy gave her a warning. Bastard!
 
Texas Taps and others that have never been stuffed into the back seat of a cop car while they search your car just don't understand. Until you have been in that situation you don't know a damn thing about how you would feel and if you would trust a cop. It's the reason guys like OJ walk. The black community doesn't trust them and if you live in Dallas you sure the hell wouldn't. We finally got a good DA now, and you're seeing guys set free almost every week that were falsely accused. It happens all the time. I bet the real truth is about half way in between on this one. I also have a feeling Benson walks on this one unless they did a blood alcohol and it's positive.

And 73, I bet the LCRA knew exactly whose boat that was before they ever boarded. They didn't have to shout. How many boats like that are on the lake?
 
I guess I should add that I don't beleive this is as much a race issue as it is a police power issue. I am white and I have as much faith in the APD as I do in Kelvin sampson not cheating...
 
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