By Kevin Kelly and Jim Hannah
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Police say Bengals fullback James Lynch urinated in the middle of a street early Tuesday, fled from officers and resisted arrest as he was being put into a police cruiser.

When Covington police arrested Lynch at 2:40 a.m. Tuesday and charged him with five offenses, he already was wanted for failing to appear in court on other traffic charges.

A member of the Bengals practice squad since the team signed him Sept. 30, Lynch was released from jail after posting $3,011 bond.

He appeared in Kenton District Court Tuesday morning on a felony charge of fleeing and evading police and other misdemeanor charges including alcohol intoxication and resisting arrest.

"It's long been our policy that we don't comment on something when nothing has been resolved," Bengals spokesman Jack Brennan said. "We'll let it go through the legal system."

Lynch's attorney, Philip Taliaferro, also did not want to comment on the charges.

Lynch, 21, is scheduled to be back in court again today on the previous traffic charges from November when he was cited for driving with a suspended driver's license and driving without headlights.

His preliminary hearing for Tuesday's offenses is scheduled for Dec. 10. If convicted of the felony charge, Lynch could serve up to five years in prison.

On Tuesday, a Covington police officer saw Lynch urinating outside his 1991 light blue Cadillac sedan, which was stopped at a red light at Madison Avenue and Fourth Street.

Lynch saw the officers, finished urinating and jumped in his car and sped off, according to court records.

After a short chase, Lynch stopped at Third and Scott streets, near the Kenton County jail, jumped out of his car and yelled obscenities at officers, a report stated.

Lynch repeatedly taunted officers by telling them they wouldn't be able to handcuff him or get him inside their cruiser, according to the report.

It took four officers to cuff and shackle the 276-pound Lynch. He also was sprayed with a chemical irritant and tried to kick out a window of a cruiser, court records state.

The Bengals signed Lynch, a rookie, to their practice squad after the Vikings released him. During the preseason, he caught two passes for 13 yards.

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