and feet to prevent him from walking properly. A female passenger on Benson's boat also claimed to have witnessed the abuse and called her father out of fear for Benson's safety. Her fiancé, also on the boat, may have had dozens of pictures confirming Benson's account. Upon hearing about the incident, Bears' head coach Lovie Smith stated, “I haven’t had a chance to speak with Cedric yet, but anytime we’re talking about one of our players getting arrested, you’re disappointed in it,” and added “What we’re going to do from here, I’ll go back and try to get as much information as I possibly can and go from there.” Benson was arrested for driving while intoxicated in Austin, Texas, on June 7, 2008. While returning from a restaurant with his girlfriend, police claimed that Benson drove through a red light, and failed a field sobriety test. Police claimed he later refused to take a breath or blood test to determine his blood alcohol level. Police proceeded to detain Benson, and later released him on bond. Benson denied the police officers' allegations and insisted that he "aced" the field test. Bears general manager Jerry Angelo commented, "It's unfortunate. Disappointment is too much an often used word when we're talking about Cedric. The No. 1 lesson for every player is protect your job. We're all held accountable for our actions. I'm not going to say any more than that until we know for sure what the facts are." On the following Monday, Benson was waived from the Bears. Angelo commented on the release, stating ”Cedric displayed a pattern of behavior we will not tolerate... As I said this past weekend, you have to protect your job. Everyone in this organization is held accountable for their actions." Benson was later ordered by a county judge to put a built-in ignition interlock breathalyzer in his car. He was also told to start drug counseling classes. Benson was cleared of all charges in September, after appearing before two grand juries in Travis County. 2010 arrest On June 29, 2010, Benson was arrested for assault with injury after reportedly punching a bartender in the face. Benson himself denied committing the crime. Almost a month after the ordeal, the NFL announced that Benson would not be suspended. 2011 arrest On July 17, 2011, Benson was arrested in Austin, Texas, for a misdemeanor charge of assault causing bodily