AUSTIN, Texas -- Chicago Bears running back Cedric Benson has been charged with drunken driving after being arrested for the second time in just more than a month.
Authorities said Benson was arrested early Saturday in downtown Austin after he failed a field sobriety test. The former Texas star was charged with driving while intoxicated and was released on bond.
The arrest comes a month after Benson was charged with boating while intoxicated and resisting arrest. He has said that neither charge is true, and the cases are pending.
Austin police spokeswoman Veneza Aguinaga said Benson, who was pulled over for running a red light, refused to take a breath test or provide blood samples Saturday.
A message left with an answering service for Benson's attorney was not immediately returned. A Bears representative was not immediately available for comment.
Benson was a first-round pick in 2005 and started 11 games last season. Three weeks ago, he took part in voluntary spring workouts in Illinois, lining up in the Bears' first-team backfield.
He has a June 30 court date for the May 5 arrest while operating a 30-foot boat on Lake Travis near Austin. Authorities say he resisted arrest and had to use pepper spray to subdue him; Benson has denied he resisted and says officers used excessive force.
In 2003, Benson was sentenced to eight days in jail on a misdemeanor trespassing charge after forcing his way into an apartment to look for a reported stolen TV.
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