Cedric Benson Arrested

How about we just leave the legalities aside for a minute and use some common sense.

1. What are the odds that you go out on a boat with 15 of your buddies until 9:30pm and have only 1-2 beers? Seriously....does anyone here really believe this?

2. Assuming that it's true that he's been searched 6 times prior to this...then why drink ANYTHING at all? The fact that he DID drink some was already stated by his own witness. The only question we have is exactly how much, right?

3. If you are going to drink anything (as we know he did) then why the hell not pay some joker 100 bucks to hang out on your boat all day and drive you back?? AT least this would remove any liability about how much you as Cedric Benson had to drink, eh?

4. Finally...say he wasn't drunk, then why not just shut your trap...go politely to the police station and demand a blood test? As much as he says he's been harassed how sweet would it have been to go to the local paper and tell how you got falsely accused of BWI and have the blood results to prove it?
 
It's really not that complicated. Millions of people each day manage to get through life without getting arrested.

If you are drinking, don't drive. Of course I know it is against the advice of everyone here but if I wasn't drunk I would do the breath test. When I passed it I would go home. Unless Texas Law is dramatically different I don't believe they are going to "keep" you.

Before everyone jumps on what I said. I googled for info that was relevant in Texas. Every link I looked at said exactly what you all are saying. Don' take the test - call a Lawyer. Almost to a one every one of those sites was owned by Texas Law Firm that specializes in DUI cases.

I am old enough and have been around enough to know that sometimes you really do need an Attorney. But sometimes you don't. If you get caught driving drunk - you probably do. If you aren't drunk - you probably don't.

I am not giving anyone else advice here but that is simply what I would do. That being said I have been on this earth for 45 years, traveled and partied over a fair part of it. Yet never have I been pepper sprayed or even come close to it.

Most of the time a little common sense will keep you out of trouble.
 
Just to put all this discussion about taking, or not taking, a breathalyzer or field sobriety test in perspective.

Mike Krusee, an attorney and member of the Texas House of Representatives from Williamson County who has championed DWI legislation in the past was recently arrested on suspicion of driving while intoxicated. He refused the breathalyzer or to be tested. That speaks volumes to me. Just saying.

For the record, a good friend of mine who is a lawyer here in Austin, has told me that if I ever get stopped on suspicion of DWI to be polite, cooperate as much as possible, but never ever blow or take a FST.
 
The new witness is interesting, but doesn't look like he saw the whole event. If he thought the police treatment of Cedric seemed excessive, it at least makes ya wonder.
 
That is now two witnesses, including one from another boat, that support the story of excessive force. That part is looking pretty definitive to me.
 
For all of those who would condemn a man before he has been tried, please try to understand and empathize.

We aren’t all that different. Every single one of us has had a close call or two and not been caught. You thanked God for it. You said to yourself, never again I’ll be good now; but you weren’t. You forgot about it and as the years went by you can now look back and say in the last 10, I’ve driven a couple of times when I shouldn’t have. Do not deny it; if there is anything that I cannot stand, it is the stench of lies and hypocrisy. You just got lucky.

Approximately 1.4 million drivers were arrested in 2003 for driving under the influence of alcohol or narcotics. This is an arrest rate of 1 for every 135 licensed drivers in the United States. Next year there will be another million, and the next and the next and the next. These are just the ones that got caught; do you think they could even catch 1% of drunk drivers in a given night?

Not a single one of us has a first hand account of what happened on that boat. Do not suppose anything about his state or his actions or what happened. Glassy red eyes for a man who has been swimming all day, a balancing act on an unanchored boat; this is not what we call solid evidence. I am all for police officers’ enforcing the law, but getting pulled over 6 times is beyond harassment. All of us would be angry, all of us would feel wronged, and all of us would have as the officer said, “attitude.”

There comes a point when you say enough is enough. I will not go silently, I will not go out without a fight, I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take it anymore. This is America; we have a Constitution and a Bill of Rights. The root word, the essence, and the very meaning of this country is Freedom. Remember, all 6 times he was found to be completely within the law. A man should not abstain from drinking a reasonable amount because he believes he will be pulled over. A man should not be denied his God given rights on the supposition that he will abuse them.

You cannot put a chain around this mans leg without finding the other end around your own neck. Try to remember this next time you are at church asking God to forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.

Let the man who has never driven without a single drink in him, be the first to judge.
 
Texas Republic- I have alot of respect for you, my fellow Texas Longhorn brother!! All of that was well said. For all of those who were totally against Ced in the beginning, based on his criminal past, it is starting to look more and more like Ced has been wronged. I have been saying this from the beginning. And to elaborate on TexRep's statement, there are far too many posters on here who want to defend our law enforcement first and the accused last. While I do respect our law enforcement, I know from personal experience as well as stories that I have heard from my peers on this site as well as off this site, that I do not always trust them.
 
This is pretty dated advice, but my criminal law professor at UT School of Law (Robert Dawson) told the class in 1986 to never blow if you had consumed any alcohol at all. He indicated that the devices were extremely inaccurate.
 
One of my best friends is a former Travis Count Asst. DA. The stories he would tell me about APD abuses were unfreakingbelievable (lack of following procedure, harassment, etc.). I've always had this weird relationship with regards to cops (first i'd call if ever in a jam vs. abuse of power). But when a guy that actually PROSECUTES says that law enforcment frequently abuses their power...I'm just saying. I'm just glad I have a HOST of lawyers, media, politicians at my disposal (in the event that i ever get into a legal jam - which i hope never happens).

At any rate, APD, State troopers, etc are all the same to me...

I love 'em when I need 'em, but try to avoid 'em as much as humanly possible all other times.
 
SERIOUS QUESTION: Has anyone ever heard of someone blowing, and passing. Much less, taking a field sobriety test, and getting let go.

Just curious, because I haven't...
Not that I have known all that many people to get pulled over for suspicion of DUI... but every single person I have known who was pulled over and submitted to either test, failed... and most of them felt OK to drive (some admittedly took a chance, and paid for it)
 
Yes I have a hand that was followed out of a bar parking lot and pulled over within two blocks. He thought he passed the field tests but was taken in for a breath test. He had consumed two beers in about 2 1/2 hours. He tested around 0.04. They gave him a ride back to his pickup and of course warned him not to drink and drive.
 
My friend passed the FST once. It was the middle of the day though, I think the cop was less suspicious. I'm sure if it had been at 11 pm, it would've been a different story.
 
I passed the FST once. It helped that I had not had anything to drink at all. The cops gave it to me because they saw me pull over suddenly and then saw my passenger puking on the ground next to my car.

They were totally cool. Westlake cops, no less. Go figure.
 
I have passed two FST's and offered to bypass another and go straight to the machine or breathalyzer. This baffled the cop and he let me go right there.

Each time I was sober because every single time I drive, I am sober. I am the extreme end of the bell curve, I know. I don't expect others to go to the extremes I do to make sure they are not even close to not being able to drive.

I can totally see where people freak out or fail a FST though, even with one beer. It is not super easy sober depending on your balance, nerves, etc... I had no nerves since I knew I had nothing to fear and would test all zero's if it came to that. But man, I can imagine having had a beer an hour earlier and praying enough time would pass. All that must weigh on somebody while they are taking that test and maybe that complicates them passing it?

I would just never want to go through it, none of it. Not the worry, not the legal hassle, not the financial issues. To me, it is worth it just to flat out not ever drink if I am going to be driving, period, all day/night till I get home. Again, I know i am the extreme end and would never expect others to be that way. Nor do i think many could or would.
 
SINCE73,

Why the roll eyes? Why is it so farfetched that I would have close friends from undergrad that are now attorneys, broadcast journalists, etc?

We have a tier 1 law school, and our communications college is ranked in the top 10 nationally...Also, Austin IS the freakin' state capital (where politics happen).

...or maybe this was just another case of Sooner envy?
 
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