Benson charged in traffic, animal cases

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MANITOWOC, Wis., Jan. 24 (UPI) -- Green Bay Packers running back Cedric Benson has been charged with traffic violations and a claim his dogs injured calves on a neighbor's Wisconsin farm.

In unrelated incidents, Benson, 30, was ticketed Jan. 1 for allegedly driving 41 miles over the speed limit and without a driver's license in Manitowoc County, Wis., and charges by the county sheriff's department say Benson's two Rottweiler dogs attacked calves owned by his neighbors on Dec. 20.

A member of the livestock owner's family alleges he saw the dogs biting the legs of 17 calves and that several suffered "very deep wounds and possible tendon damage."

A police report of the incident said a veterinarian who examined the animals on the day of the alleged attack felt some calves "may not make it through their injuries."

Deputies charged Benson with violating an ordinance prohibiting animals running at large, and charged him with a second violation Jan. 13 after receiving a complaint of dogs running loose in the neighborhood, Gannett Wisconsin reported Thursday.

Benson is due in Manitowoc County Court Feb. 13 for the traffic violations, and has an appearance scheduled before Circuit Court Commissioner Patricia Koppa Feb. 20 for the animal citations, Gannett Wisconsin said.