Bennett Indicted

[Largent80]

http://sports.mynorthwest.com/428551/ex ... -incident/

[RiverDog]

First question: What are they doing employing a disabled 66 year old female as part of their security detail?

[Aseahawkfan]

First question: What are they doing employing a disabled 66 year old female as part of their security detail?

Security companies employ older folks all the time. Security is able to employ a lot of people not employable in 99% of other jobs for various reasons.

[Largent80]

Why is Bennett getting physical with a diabled senior?

Someone he could dominate without being offsides?

[mykc14]

I wonder if their decision to pursue this has anything to do with his public reaction to the Las Vegas situation from last off-season. I know the article says that it took so long to indict him because of more important cases, which I am sure is true, but you have to wonder if maybe the public shaming of the Las Vegas police by Bennett at least played a part in the type of charges or something.

[RiverDog]

Security companies employ older folks all the time. Security is able to employ a lot of people not employable in 99% of other jobs for various reasons.

That still doesn't answer my question. She was 66 years old and a paraplegic. What was her job? Crowd control? It seems very odd that you would put someone that is in a wheelchair within a crowd of thousands of people for obvious reasons. The other question I have is why did it take them so long to indict him? This happened well over a year ago, at SB 51. There might be good answers for those questions,but they aren't apparent in the article.

I'm no fan of Michael Bennett's and if they prove that he intentionally hurt someone, then throw the book at the S.O.B. But this sounds fishy to me.

[Aseahawkfan]

That still doesn't answer my question. She was 66 years old and a paraplegic. What was her job? Crowd control? It seems very odd that you would put someone that is in a wheelchair within a crowd of thousands of people for obvious reasons. The other question I have is why did it take them so long to indict him? This happened well over a year ago, at SB 51. There might be good answers for those questions,but they aren't apparent in the article.

I'm no fan of Michael Bennett's and if they prove that he intentionally hurt someone, then throw the book at the S.O.B. But this sounds fishy to me.

She could be someone that sits at a door and makes sure they have the proper passes or IDs. All she would do is sit there, make sure someone has the right pass, if they don't, she calls someone else to handle it. The company gets a credit for hiring a disabled person.

[burrrton]

What was her job? Crowd control? It seems very odd that you would put someone that is in a wheelchair within a crowd of thousands of people for obvious reasons.

I'm sure she wasn't there for "crowd control" or to be a bouncer, but you see older people guarding doorways and aisles all the time. I don't think they're there so much to tackle the ne'er-do-wells as tell them what's up and call security if necessary.

I could be wrong, though.

[TriCitySam]

I wonder if their decision to pursue this has anything to do with his public reaction to the Las Vegas situation from last off-season. I know the article says that it took so long to indict him because of more important cases, which I am sure is true, but you have to wonder if maybe the public shaming of the Las Vegas police by Bennett at least played a part in the type of charges or something.

From his mis-statements about Vegas to his cheap piling on last season, I think we know what this has to do with....Bennett is a POS.

[jshawaii22]

...From his mis-statements about Vegas to his cheap piling on last season, I think we know what this has to do with....Bennett is a POS

and egotistical, self-centered, too. The best thing he has going is his Hawaiian wife and kids, who all love the islands.

By the way, another similar article said multiple Seahawk coaches panned him after the trade. Not saying it wasn't sour grapes, but it was the right move at the right time. I wonder if the team got some inside information on this. I'm also waiting for the Las Vegas DA to indite him on 'false reporting' for the non-crime that was committed against him in Vegas.

https://247sports.com/nfl/seattle-seahawks/Bolt/Michael-Bennett-indicted-for-injury-of-the-elderly-116602010?utm_source=247Sports%20Newsletter&utm_medium=Newsletter&utm_campaign=180323_180050_Seattle%20Seahawks%20Newsletter&utm_content=Image&liveconnect=F0-52-F7-57-A7-BF-EF-11-70-29-72-90-8B-47-B6-CD180323_180050SeattleSeahawksNewsletter

[RiverDog]

From his mis-statements about Vegas to his cheap piling on last season, I think we know what this has to do with....Bennett is a POS.

Welcome to The Shack, Sam!

[trents]

Even if he wasn't "offsides" he was "out of bounds" on the play and committed "unnecessary roughness."

[RiverDog]

I read a little more about this incident in my local paper (sorry I can't link the article). Apparently the Houston police didn't start investigating this crime until September of 2017, saying essentially that they had bigger fish to fry. I'm not sure I buy that excuse as 5-6 months is still a long time to delay the investigation of a possible felony crime. It also leaves open the possibility that their decision to pursue this incident could be retaliatory in nature as they opened their investigation at about the same time that Bennett went public about his threatened lawsuit regarding his being detained by Las Vegas police. They'd better be able to show exactly what their detectives were doing during that 5-6 month period and define the bigger fish they were working on if they don't want a judge to shove this indictment up their azzes.

The other stuff I read was very disturbing. According to what I read, Bennett was told by multiple personnel, including the police, that he couldn't access the field through the entrance he was attempting and he simply disregarded them, telling them to "F-off", "you know who I am", "I'm going down there whether you like it or not" and started forcing his way onto the field. If that's true...and don't be surprised if a video of this surfaces...then Bennett's going to have a damn hard time defending his actions and had better hope his lawyer can get some traction on the retaliation issue.

I still question why the security company would assign an elderly, paraplegic employee in such a position, but that's beside the point. If they can prove that Bennett's actions caused this woman to suffer the injuries they claim she did, then I hope they throw the book at that POS. I haven't been comfortable with Michael Bennett for quite some time, and this incident just reinforces my feelings about the man. Even if the charges are dismissed, the league had better take some action based on their personal conduct policy.

And to think that Bennett was our nominee for the Walter Payton Man of the Year award. What a frigging joke!

[TriCitySam]

THANKS River! Been several years since I've looked at forums, just retired so more time for whining (and wine-ing).

[NorthHawk]

I read a little more about this incident in my local paper (sorry I can't link the article). Apparently the Houston police didn't start investigating this crime until September of 2017, saying essentially that they had bigger fish to fry. I'm not sure I buy that excuse as 5-6 months is still a long time to delay the investigation of a possible felony crime. It also leaves open the possibility that their decision to pursue this incident could be retaliatory in nature as they opened their investigation at about the same time that Bennett went public about his threatened lawsuit regarding his being detained by Las Vegas police. They'd better be able to show exactly what their detectives were doing during that 5-6 month period and define the bigger fish they were working on if they don't want a judge to shove this indictment up their azzes.

The other stuff I read was very disturbing. According to what I read, Bennett was told by multiple personnel, including the police, that he couldn't access the field through the entrance he was attempting and he simply disregarded them, telling them to "F-off", "you know who I am", "I'm going down there whether you like it or not" and started forcing his way onto the field. If that's true...and don't be surprised if a video of this surfaces...then Bennett's going to have a damn hard time defending his actions and had better hope his lawyer can get some traction on the retaliation issue.

I still question why the security company would assign an elderly, paraplegic employee in such a position, but that's beside the point. If they can prove that Bennett's actions caused this woman to suffer the injuries they claim she did, then I hope they throw the book at that POS. I haven't been comfortable with Michael Bennett for quite some time, and this incident just reinforces my feelings about the man. Even if the charges are dismissed, the league had better take some action based on their personal conduct policy.

And to think that Bennett was our nominee for the Walter Payton Man of the Year award. What a frigging joke!

If he was told by security personnel including Police that he couldn't enter there and he did anyway, why didn't the Police arrest or at least stop him then?
Are they in the habit of ignoring people when they break the rules?
Maybe the reporter got it wrong.

[RiverDog]

f he was told by security personnel including Police that he couldn't enter there and he did anyway, why didn't the Police arrest or at least stop him then?
Are they in the habit of ignoring people when they break the rules?
Maybe the reporter got it wrong.

Yes, police are in the habit of ignoring people when they break rules when the offense is of little consequence, like driving 5mph over the speed limit, and the reason is obvious: Don't spend your time chasing little minnows while letting the big fish get away.

Obviously the police were unaware that Bennett had injured someone. At that point, he was not a threat to anyone and with 70,000 fans present, it wouldn't have been practical for them to arrest a person if their only crime was pushing his way onto the field. They had far bigger worries, like being on the look out for potential terrorists.

[c_hawkbob]

Been waiting for the inevitable cell phone video (I'm sure there'll be more) to comment, but while this isn't quite an exoneration it looks lost as much as though there is some grandstanding going on as anything nefarious.

https://twitter.com/BrandonGowton/statu ... 32/video/1

[burrrton]

Been waiting for the inevitable cell phone video (I'm sure there'll be more) to comment, but while this isn't quite an exoneration it looks lost as much as though there is some grandstanding going on as anything nefarious.

I'm not going to crucify the guy without solid evidence, either, but isn't it a given that he made it to the field?

I know you acknowledge that's no exoneration, but it doesn't look like anything to me- he could have knocked the old lady into the middle of next week on the way in without his sister even noticing, nor their exuberance changing, right?

[Aseahawkfan]

Seems like petty retaliation by the police. A you smeared us, we're going to smear you a bit. He was running on to see his brother. We know they are close. I doubt he purposely pushed some old, crippled lady. Bennett likes to push buttons, but he's not some dude that engages in that type purposeful violent behavior towards some old woman. He was probably part of some mob that ended up knocking the older woman down. I wouldn't be surprised if this ends up being a litigation case for the old woman to snag some money off a rich athlete.

[RiverDog]

Been waiting for the inevitable cell phone video (I'm sure there'll be more) to comment, but while this isn't quite an exoneration it looks lost as much as though there is some grandstanding going on as anything nefarious.

https://twitter.com/BrandonGowton/statu ... 32/video/1

That video doesn't prove or disprove anything.

[RiverDog]

Seems like petty retaliation by the police. A you smeared us, we're going to smear you a bit. He was running on to see his brother. We know they are close. I doubt he purposely pushed some old, crippled lady. Bennett likes to push buttons, but he's not some dude that engages in that type purposeful violent behavior towards some old woman. He was probably part of some mob that ended up knocking the older woman down. I wouldn't be surprised if this ends up being a litigation case for the old woman to snag some money off a rich athlete.

Yea, the timing is really bad. They start investigating 5-6 months after the incident right after Bennett's going public about his complaints about the LV police? Like I said above, the prosecution has a lot of 'splaining to do.

The police said that one of the reasons for the delayed charges is that they were gathering evidence, and I wonder what kind of evidence they have. I have to assume that their evidence is pretty solid in order for a grand jury to indict him. We'll have to see how this all plays out.

[Largent80]

Statutes of limitations are years long (depending on the crime) so several months is nothing, but they have enough to go forward with. They don't have to explain anything.

I live near Houston and if Acevado is telling the story there IS something to it.

[RiverDog]

Statutes of limitations are years long (depending on the crime) so several months is nothing, but they have enough to go forward with. They don't have to explain anything.

I live near Houston and if Acevado is telling the story there IS something to it.

Oh, yes, they are going to have to do a lot of explaining if they are going to sell this to a jury. If I'm a jurist, I'm going to want to know just when the police found out that the lady had suffered serious injuries and exactly what cases was their overloaded staff of detectives were working on that kept them from investigating this for months. Here's an interesting tidbit I came across while doing some homework:

Despite fears of a growing wave of violence and killing in American streets, a new report from the Brennan Center for Justice finds that all crime across major U.S. cities fell in 2017, particularly in metros historically seen as hotbeds of criminal activity like Chicago, Detroit and Houston.

New York, down 16 percent
Detroit, down 11 percent
Houston, down 27 percent
Chicago, down 12 percent

https://patch.com/us/across-america/cri ... 017-report

A 27% drop in major crime for 2017 doesn't bode well for their excuse that their staff was overloaded with higher priority cases.

And besides the legal side of it, there's the court of public opinion they need to worry about. Social media has already been going ballistic over this case, and they're asking the same questions about the timing of the investigation just as we are.

[NorthHawk]

Is there any local political angle to this?
Will some Police Chief or DA be up for election this year where it would benefit them to have a high profile case constantly in the news?

[RiverDog]

Is there any local political angle to this?
Will some Police Chief or DA be up for election this year where it would benefit them to have a high profile case constantly in the news?

The DA is a lady named Kim Ogg. She was elected to a 2-year term in 2016, so she'll be up for election this fall. It's always a plus for a DA to have their name in the media, especially one like this where the accused is charged with causing harm to a little old lady in a wheel chair.

But if you're looking for a villain, you're probably not going to find it in Ogg as she's a true blue Democrat that has talked about promoting diversity in the DA's office, and she had to convice a grand jury to indict Bennett. The purpose of a grand jury is to screen out incompetent or malicious prosecutors, so it's unlikely that politics or racial bias had something to do with this indictment.

[Seahawks4Ever]

Uh, do you think that maybe a little thing like your city being hit with a monster hurricane might have something to do with both the 27% drop in major crime (criminals probably left town ) and the Houston PD giving other crimes priority??

It wouldn't take much to injure a 66 year old paraplegic, or even a 66 year old anybody. I KNOW, my wife has suffered from both falls and "almost" falls because of unsteady legs. The 66 year old usher probably has brittle bones because again, I KNOW because of my wife and other loved ones that a person can take all of the calcium and bone strengthening pills but if you are not out WALKING and exercising your limbs most importantly your legs you will STILL get osteoporosis. This IS a FACT and I expect a paraplegic doesn't get a chance to exercise legs that you can't move!
So, while maybe MB didn't realize what he had done, at the time, there has been plenty of time since that game (more than a year) and I am shocked that Bennett didn't get out in front of this and at least try and pay her medical bills and/or any lost wages.

I am sure his lawyer told him not to because it would be an admission of guilt. But, that ONLY flies IF he honestly believed that this IS a bogus charge and that the woman either was not really hurt or hurt as bad as authorities have made out.

I would consider that a stretch however. I would love to see some REAL videos or pics of what happened I would also like to hear from the alleged (I hate that word) victim as well as other witnesses as to what THEY saw.

[RiverDog]

Uh, do you think that maybe a little thing like your city being hit with a monster hurricane might have something to do with both the 27% drop in major crime (criminals probably left town ) and the Houston PD giving other crimes priority??

Uh, I wasn't attempting to justify Houston's drop in crime. I was noting that the work load for detectives normally assigned to criminal investigations must not have been very demanding if there was a 27% drop. Besides, Harvey hit in late August, or 8 months into the year. I doubt that it would have affected that large of a drop in the crime rate.

Uh, the Houston police said that they started investigating the complaint against Bennett in September, so Harvey had nothing to do with this investigation. The period of time that the Houston police are going to have to account for the activities of their detectives is from early February until sometime in September.

[Largent80]

Yes, I think it is safe to say that a parapalegic would have brittle bones....

This would not be going to trial if there weren't something to it. People are still in recovery mode here, and the chief was on the news a couple days ago and was discussing this and was NOT happy.

Any explaining will be done by Bennett.

[RiverDog]

Yes, I think it is safe to say that a parapalegic would have brittle bones....

This would not be going to trial if there weren't something to it. People are still in recovery mode here, and the chief was on the news a couple days ago and was discussing this and was NOT happy.

Any explaining will be done by Bennett.

I agree with you, that there must be something to these accusations, and personally, I don't believe that the police and/or the DA was motivated by Bennett's threatened lawsuit against the LV police or that there were any other sinster reasons for the indictment.

Nevertheless, the DA and the police are going to have to explain why they chose to pursue this incident when they did.

BTW, Bennett's book entitled "How to Make White People Uncomfortable" is scheduled to be released on April 3rd.

[burrrton]

BTW, Bennett's book entitled "How to Make White People Uncomfortable" is scheduled to be released on April 3rd.

Ah! Should be a real page-turner!