Dallas police report reveals troubling details surrounding January arrest of UGA QB Stetson Bennett

The Dallas Police Department has released the incident report regarding Stetson Bennett’s arrest last month. Bennett was arrested for public intoxication in the early morning hours Jan. 29.

According to the report, which was obtained by the Athens Banner-Herald, Bennett was seen “walking further back in the gated area to hide behind a brick wall by a random (apartment) in attempt to possibly avoid (the arresting officers) detection.” Officers announced themselves multiple times to ask Bennett to come out from behind the wall, and they put him in handcuffs once he did so.

The report said Bennett smelled of alcohol from his “breath and/or body” and “if not arrested, could have potentially become a victim of a crime.” Bennett then entered a “sobering center” after the arrest.

He also didn’t have a cell phone to call a friend, who he said lived at the location at which he was arrested. He also couldn’t give police the his friend’s address.

Bennett was taken into custody at approx. 6 a.m. Jan. 29 and was released around 11 a.m. that same day. He is coming off his senior season with Georgia, leading the Bulldogs to a second consecutive national championship and finishing as a finalist for the Heisman Trophy.

At the time of his arrest, Bennett was in Dallas training for the NFL Combine, which starts this week in Indianapolis.

ESPN’s Pete Thamel assessed Stetson Bennett’s draft stock after his arrest

Bennett is trying to get to the NFL after running out of eligibility. However, he already had a tough road to the league — and ESPN’s Pete Thamel said he predicted Bennett wouldn’t get drafted even before his arrest because of his size and age, which are two big factors as teams evaluate prospects.

Thamel added Bennett’s off-field behavior plays a role in how teams see him, and those concerns existed before the incident in Dallas.

“Obviously, he was a splendid player,” Thamel said on The Paul Finebaum Show. “He was productive, he was clutch, he was a relentless winner. I would say, just generally speaking, talking to scouts about Stetson going into the end of this year … there were modest concerns about his off-field behavior. If you’re going to be drafted to be a backup in the NFL, you need to be a teacher’s pet, you need to have your nose in the book and you need to have your nose clean.

“Stetson Bennett, reputationally, didn’t follow along those lines at Georgia. That doesn’t make him a bad person. He was a regular college kid. That doesn’t fit the archetype for the NFL — the Chase Daniels of the world who are super productive and can can hold the clipboard and be ready to play at any time. I don’t think anyone was ever under the impression that Stetson Bennett would be an NFL starter.”