Chicago Bears running back Cedric Benson was charged with failing a sobriety test while operating a 30-foot boat, then resisting arrest before being hit with pepper spray and dragged ashore by officers.

Benson faces charges of boating while intoxicated and resisting arrest after the incident Saturday night on Lake Travis, Travis County Sheriff’s Department spokesman Roger Wade said Sunday.

Benson was released from jail early Sunday on 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.

Benson was operating the boat with 15 passengers aboard when he was stopped by a Lower Colorado River Authority officer for a random safety inspection. He failed a field sobriety test on the officer’s boat and was uncooperative when the officer tried to take him ashore, the authority said.

The full story can be found here.  Texas criminal law blogger Jamie Spencer is already reacting to the story - see his posts, at the Austin Criminal Defense Lawyer discussing the unfortunate characterization of Benson's past legal troubles here, and at the Austin DWI Lawyer discussing the so called "float test" given to Benson in an attempt to determine whether he was intoxicated here.  I'll leave it to Jamie to keep us up to date as the case progresses. 

For interested in-state boaters, I thought I'd post some information about Mississippi's Alcohol Boating Safety Act.  You can see some text of the Act below - the first thing to jump out at me is the threshold BAC of .10% which is higher than the .08% threshold for a DUI.  Also noteworthy, but not reproduced here, is the fact that a BWI conviction results in significantly lower penalties than those resulting from a DUI conviction.  The Act states the following:

(1) It is unlawful for any person to operate a watercraft on the public waters of this state who:

      (a) Is under the influence of intoxicating liquor;

      (b) Is under the influence of any other substance which has impaired such person's ability to operate a watercraft; or

      (c) Has ten one-hundredths percent (.10%) or more by weight volume of alcohol in the person's blood based upon milligrams of alcohol per one hundred (100) cubic centimeters of blood as shown by a chemical analysis of such person's breath, blood or urine administered as authorized by this chapter.