Bears running back Cedric Benson isn’t taking his recent arrest for boating under the influence quietly.

Benson has told multiple media outlets that he was fine, and that he generally didn’t do anything wrong.

“I was not intoxicated,” Benson said, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.  “There was alcohol on the boat, and others were enjoying themselves, but I wasn’t drunk.”

But Benson, per police, failed a sobriety test designed for boaters, and then refused to go ashore for more testing.  He also refused to put on a life jacket.

After Benson was pepper sprayed and his boat docked, Benson refused to leave it.   “They kicked my feet out from under me and slammed my face down,” he said.  “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.”

Benson also told NBC 5 that he believes he is, and has been, a target:  “I get pulled over every time I take my boat out,” Benson said. “It’s Austin, Texas.  They know me.”

Bears coach Lovie Smith said that he is “[v]ery disappointed” by the arrest.  “You try to wait and get as much information before you make a lot of comments about it, and that’s what I am going to do,” Smith said.  “We’re always disappointed when we have someone that we’re talking about being in trouble with the law.”

The question is whether the Bears will take meaningful action against Benson based on any information they obtain.  Though they didn’t hesitate to cut defensive tackle Tank Johnson, that move came after Johnson was arrested after he was presumably placed on a last-chance plan following his incarceration for probation violation. 

From a football standpoint, the Bears can keep Benson at a reasonable rate for the next two years.  He’s due to earn $820,000 and $1.02 million, respectively, in 2008 and 2009, the final seasons of his rookie contract.