[CBFF] Friend sought help for Benson

[Kenny Claxton]

It was Aaron that noted that this had the makings of a DWB (or BWB),
having gone thru it, seen it, grown up around it. It does not surprise
me. This thing isn't going away.

On 5/7/08, Dwayne <dwayne at wctc.net> wrote:
> Pulling him over for a safety check? That could have easily been you or me.
> If Benson's friend can be believed, then Benson has been targeted unfairly,
> and in my opinion anything that happened afterwards was entrapment.
>
> This could get very messy for the NFL(racial overtones), and if anything I
> am not about to throw Benson under the boat for this.
>
> I am still willing to throw Benson under the boat for not being very good at
> his job.
>
> D
> - Original Message -----
> From: "Jerry Madsen" <jerrywm at gmail.com>
> To: "CBFF" <post at chicagobearsfanforum.com>
> Sent: Wednesday, May 07, 2008 6:32 AM
> Subject: [CBFF] Friend sought help for Benson
>
>
> > This, to me, is a more believable account of what happened to Cedric.
> > What may have first appeared as an event that would ensure his
> > release, may end-up being a catalyst for the Bears to come to his
> > defense.
> >
> > Jerry
> >
> > ----------------------------------------------------------
> >
> > Friend sought help for Benson
> > Concerned for his safety with police, woman phones parents to call 911
> > By David Haugh
> > Tribune reporter
> >
> > May 7, 2008, 12:12 AM CDT
> >
> > A female passenger on Cedric Benson's boat Saturday night in Austin,
> > Texas, was concerned enough about his safety after police took him
> > into custody to phone her parents and urge them to call 911, the
> > Tribune has learned.
> >
> > "I called my dad and told him, 'Call 911, my black friend is getting
> > beaten up by police on Lake Travis,' " said Elizabeth Cartwright, 22,
> > a friend of Benson's from the University of Texas. "It's more what I
> > heard than what I saw. I have never heard or seen Cedric that scared."
> >
> > Cartwright put in writing her version of the events on Lake Travis
> > that resulted in Benson being charged with boating while intoxicated
> > and resisting arrest.
> >
> > She says she is willing to submit her document as evidence supporting
> > his account. She said her fiance also took dozens of photographs that
> > help corroborate her claims.
> >
> > In a 45-minute phone interview, she explained that she chose to come
> > forward because of concerns that Benson's reputation was being
> > "tainted" by accounts of the incident.
> >
> > Benson faces a May 19 court date on the misdemeanor charges but was
> > informed Tuesday that his lawyer can represent him.
> >
> > He was back Tuesday at Halas Hall for a two-hour visit and already has
> > shared with friends, including Cartwright, his desire to file a
> > lawsuit against Travis County authorities based on his treatment
> > during the arrest.
> >
> > "We're not asking to be treated better, but we don't want to be
> > treated worse, either, because of who Cedric is," Benson's lawyer,
> > Brian Carney, said Tuesday night.
> >
> > Cartwright, an English major at the University of Texas who is to
> > graduate later this month, estimated she and her fiance had been
> > boating with Benson six times this spring and each time a Lower
> > Colorado River Authority boat pulled them over for a safety check.
> >
> > There were about 15 people on the boat, including Benson's mother,
> > Jackie, who had spent much of the evening swimming in a part of the
> > lake known as Devil's Cove. Just when the group had decided to head
> > back to shore around 9:30 p.m. and go out to dinner, a patrol boat
> > stopped to conduct a random check.
> >
> > According to Cartwright, she had consumed one beer and Benson had two
> drinks.
> >
> > "I know Cedric and I don't think he was drunk," Cartwright said.
> >
> > The arrival of LCRA police perturbed Benson because of the frequency
> > of the checks on his 30-foot boat, Cartwright said.
> >
> > When Benson's boat passed the safety inspection, Cartwright said she
> > and her fiance were surprised the officer then required a sobriety
> > test for Benson.
> >
> > "We were all like, 'Why?' " she said.
> >
> > After an officer led Benson to the LCRA boat for the test, the second
> > officer left behind on Benson's boat assured a nervous Jackie Benson
> > that her son would be fine, Cartwright recalled.
> >
> > A few minutes later, Cartwright said she heard Benson begin to scream
> > after the officer pepper-sprayed him in the eye. By the time Benson
> > was in handcuffs, he was screaming, "Please stop, Mom, make them
> > please stop."
> >
> > Cartwright disputed that Benson was resisting arrest.
> >
> > Panicked, Cartwright called her father, Jeff, to give him a
> > description of the physical way she saw her friend being treated and
> > told him to call 911.
> >
> > Unaware the friend in question was Benson, Jeff Cartwright called 911
> > and told the dispatcher that police "were beating up a black kid on
> > Lake Travis."
> >
> > A Travis County spokesman wouldn't confirm or deny Tuesday night that
> > a 911 call had been placed regarding the incident. An affidavit the
> > LCRA filed described Benson as cocky, smelling strongly of alcohol and
> > needing to be removed forcibly from the boat and eventually falling to
> > the ground.
> >
> > Benson claimed police kicked his feet out from under him, causing him
> > to fall awkwardly. When Benson got up, Cartwright remembers him
> > sitting in a squad car surrounded by six officers.
> >
> > "In the weakest voice, Cedric said to me and my fiance, 'Help me get
> > out of here,' " Cartwright said. "He was so scared."
> >
> > dhaugh at tribune.com
> > Copyright (c) 2008, The Chicago Tribune
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > CBFF Homepage and Blog:
> > http://chicagobearsfanforum.com
> >
>
>
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