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Benny the Bull Busted in Taste Battery
By Jeremy Gorner
Tribune staff reporter
July 3, 2006, 2:19 PM CDT
Chicago Bulls mascot Benny the Bull has been arrested for allegedly punching an off-duty Cook County sheriff's deputy who tried to stop him from riding a mini-motorcycle through Grant Park over the weekend.
Barry Anderson, who portrays the mascot, was charged with misdemeanor battery after breaking the deputy's eyeglasses and watch during the scuffle, which occurred around 6:20 p.m. Sunday at the Taste of Chicago, Chicago Police Officer Laura Kubiak said. The deputy, who was on security detail at the festival, was not hurt.
The deputy was with Chicago police officers who approached Anderson to see whether he had a permit to ride the motorcycle, police said. Anderson, 26, who was working as Benny at the Taste, did not get permission from the city to ride the bike through the park, Kubiak said.
"When (Chicago) police approached him (Anderson), he drove away," Kubiak said. "The off-duty sheriff's deputy assisted the police and grabbed Benny the Bull at which time he began swinging his arms, striking the victim."
Anderson, of the 2100 block of North California Avenue, was placed in custody in the Central District lockup after the incident. He was also ticketed for driving on a sidewalk/parkway, Kubiak said. He did not have a permit to operate the motorcycle in the park, according to police.
A spokeswoman with the Chicago Park District said motorcyclists are typically not allowed to ride through the park, but had no further details about the incident.
Veronica Resa, a spokeswoman with the Mayor's Office of Special Events, said Benny the Bull was entertaining the crowd in the Family Village section at the Taste. She declined to comment on his arrest, saying only that police stopped him because of "a matter of public safety."
"We always love working with the Chicago Bulls and we know that what happened was not their fault," Resa said.
A sheriff's office spokesman could not provide any information about the deputy this afternoon, and representatives from the Chicago Bulls could not immediately be reached for comment.
This was not the first time a Bulls mascot has had brushes with the law.
Chester Brewer, who portrayed Da Bull, the other half of the team's mascot duo, pleaded guilty in February 2005 to possession of cannabis with intent to deliver. He was sentenced to 18 months' probation. Brewer was arrested near the Cabrini-Green housing complex in January 2004, after undercover police saw him selling marijuana from his vehicle.
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