Tank Johnson under legal limit in DUI arrest
Chicago Bears defensive lineman Terry "Tank" Johnson enters Cook County Court accompanied by Bears head coach Lovie Smith, right, in Skokie, Ill., in this March, 15, 2007, file photo. The Chicago Bears said Monday, June 25, 2007, they have cut Johnson from the team. (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green, File)
GILBERT, Ariz. (AP) - Tank Johnson's blood alcohol level was below the legal limit when the former Chicago Bears tackle was arrested on suspicion of drunken driving June 22.
Johnson's blood alcohol level was .072, under the presumptive limit in Arizona of .08 percent, police Sgt. Andrew Duncan said Monday. No charges have been filed pending results of a completed investigation.
Johnson, whose legal name is Terry Darnell Johnson, was arrested when officers pulled him over at 3:30 a.m. for driving 40 mph in a 25 mph zone. Duncan said an officer placed him under arrest because he believed Johnson was under the influence of alcohol. He was released without being booked or charged after providing a blood sample, and police said he was very cooperative.
The 25-year-old player was released by the Bears three days after his arrest. The team said it was ``upset and embarrassed'' by the defensive tackle's legal troubles.
The Bears declined comment Monday.
It is still possible for Johnson to be charged with DUI, but it would be unusual barring special circumstances. The law in Arizona provides for such prosecutions based on overall signs and symptoms of intoxication.
But Lorna Propes, an attorney for Johnson, emphasized Monday that the player hadn't been charged ``and the fact that his blood level came back as it did is certainly encouraging.''
Johnson already had been suspended for the first eight games of the 2007 season for violating probation on a gun charge. He spent two months in jail and was released in May.
Last December, police raided the 300-pound Johnson's suburban Chicago home and found six unregistered firearms - a violation of his probation on an earlier gun charge.
Two days after the December raid, Willie B. Posey, Johnson's bodyguard, was shot and killed in an early morning fight while he and Johnson were at a Chicago nightclub.
Johnson was suspended by the Bears for one game for being at the club. He played in the Super Bowl as the Bears lost to Indianapolis.
In March, Johnson began his two-month jail stint. In May, he pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor weapons charge from the December raid as part of a deal with prosecutors that kept him from serving more time in jail.
Johnson was chosen by the Bears in the second round of the 2004 draft out of Washington. He played in 46 games, starting 15.
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I know I'll be on an island with this opinion, but I still believe the Bears did the right thing here. This was about more than a possible DUI.
EastCoastKeith
Jersey Shore, NJ
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