Dallas / Fort Worth Sports

AUSTIN, Texas (CBS) ― Bears running back Cedric Benson has been arrested on a drinking-related charge. It happened while Benson was on a boat Saturday night near Austin, Texas. He now faces charges of boating while intoxicated and resisting arrest.

Benson was boating on Lake Travis in Texas when his boat was stopped for a random safety check. After failing a field sobriety test, he was told he would have to go ashore for another test. At that time, he refused to cooperate, and according to the Lower Colorado River Authority, he presented himself as a threat to the officer. He was subdued with pepper spray and arrested.

But Benson claimed that he wasn't drunk and didn't resist arrest.

"I was not intoxicated. There was alcohol on the boat and others were enjoying themselves, but I wasn't drunk," he said. "Even after they pepper-sprayed me, I have no idea why they did that. I was cooperative. I asked them several times why they did that and they didn't give me an answer." 

Police said officers called Travis County Sheriff's police for assistance after subduing Benson and, when they got him to shore, he allegedly continued to resist arrest, forcing officers to essentially carry or drag him to a police car to be taken to the Travis County jail.

But Benson denied that account as well, claiming he was abused. "They kicked my feet out from under me and slammed my face down. They had a hose and were running it over my face. They were choking me and stuff, not with their hands but with the hose in my face. I couldn't breathe. I don't know if they did that because of the pepper spray, but I didn't ask them to put the hose in my face."

The Bears wrapped up a rookie mini-camp Sunday. Afterwards, Coach Lovie Smith was forced once again to talk about one of his players running into trouble with the law.

Police said that Benson refused a breathalyzer test at the jail and was charged with boating while intoxicated and resisting arrest. He was booked at 11:24 p.m. Saturday and was freed at 3:24 a.m. Sunday after posting a $14,500 bond.

The charges are class B misdemeanors, each punishable by up to six months in jail and a $2,000 fine. A call to Benson's agent was not immediately returned.

"I'm very disappointed," Smith said. "The truth of the matter now, is this is all I know – I haven't had the chance to speak to Cedric yet, but any time we're talking about one of our players getting arrested it's disappointing."

Benson was the fourth-overall pick of the 2005 draft from the University of Texas and he has yet to live up to his potential, failing to gain 1,000 yards in any of his three seasons, while averaging only 3.8 yards per carry during his career. He posted a 3.4 yards per carry average in 2007, finishing with only 674 yards on 196 carries with four touchdowns when he went down with a broken leg, missing the final five games.

He was struggling last season, despite his $13.8 million contract, before he broke his left leg – a severe injury that required a plate and screw to be inserted.

Last weekend, the Bears drafted a running back, Matt Forte of Tulane. That should have sent a clear message to Benson, but obviously Benson failed to get the message that Lovie Smith sends to all his players. 

Forte, the Bears' second-round draft pick, figures to be Benson's chief competition for the starting running back position when training camp begins July 23.

"Matt Forte ... since the first practice, has stood out," Smith said. "He looked like he's been here before and that's what you want to see."

"We expect the guys to do what they're supposed to when they're supposed to do it, and simple as that, to stay out of trouble," Smith said. "But it doesn't work like that always; the guys get in trouble in all fields of society – of course ours is talked about a little bit more, but we're disappointed whenever we're talking about something that puts the Chicago Bears in a negative light."

Benson was arrested twice while in college. In May 2002, he was arrested in his hometown of Midland, Texas, for marijuana possession. The charges were dropped when he passed a drug test and other evidence surfaced to clear him.

He was arrested again in 2003 for kicking down an apartment door in Austin, apparently believing his $15,000 plasma television was inside. He was sentenced to eight days in jail, but didn't serve any time behind bars because of good behavior on the day of his arrest and a lack of available beds at the local prison.

He hadn't had any problems with the law as a Bear, but his lack of performance and his injury left his future in doubt before this arrest. Benson did not issue any comment Sunday.

Benson is the latest in a string of Bears players to run into trouble with the law. Tank Johnson was cut after doing jail time and then getting arrested in Arizona. And Lance Briggs is scheduled to be back in court for leaving the state, after crashing and then abandoning his car on a Chicago highway.

Some Bears fans think Benson should be cut, but others point out he's innocent until proven guilty.

"Everybody messes up. All sports players mess up once and a while, everyone is human, I guess," said Bears fan Pedro Salas.

"I'm not such a big fan of destructive people on the team -- I think it's just bad for the team's chemistry," said Bears fan Rafael Prado. "Tank got more than one chance, so he should get another, too."

Still, others say the arrest of professional athletes isn't good for the sport, or the kids who look up to them.

"It definitely sends a bad message to kids when their role modesl are getting arrested for bad behavior," said Chicago resident Matt Bateman.

"Once you sign that contract, you become a role model, and you have to live up to it," said Chicagoan Jennifer Jones.

CBS 2's Howard Sudberry, Dana Kozlov, the STNG Wire and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)