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Tank Johnson's time ran out with the Bears on Monday. They abruptly released the troubled defensive tackle before his latest scrape with the law -- police in Gilbert, Ariz., detained him at 3:30 a.m. Friday for speeding and suspicion of driving under the influence -- had time to play out.

Johnson did time and that didn't work. The Bears took time and that didn't work. Johnson was simply taking up too much valuable time. The team finally decided that running a reform school at Halas Hall was infringing on football business.

The Bears already had ample reason to question Johnson's judgment. In December, after police found unregistered weapons and a small quantity of marijuana in a raid on Johnson's Gurnee home, the team announced a zero-tolerance behavior policy for him. Less than 36 hours later he was present at an altercation at a downtown nightspot that resulted in the shooting death of his friend Willie Posey.

They had to be alarmed that another incident occurred just weeks after Johnson was released from Cook County Jail, having served a 60-day sentence for probation violation. He also had received an eight-game NFL suspension for his off-field behavior, and the Bears were adamant that he had exhausted his supply of chances. And he was cruising the streets of Gilbert, Ariz., at 3:30 a.m.?

Before learning any more details of the Friday morning traffic stop, Bears coach Lovie Smith brought Johnson into his office at Halas Hall in Lake Forest Monday and told him the Bears' baby-sitting job was over. Johnson had flown to Chicago from his home in Arizona, already too late to talk his way out of the relatively minor indiscretion.

The Bears had bent over backward for Johnson, and he finally broke their back.

"We are upset and embarrassed by Tank's actions last week," general manager Jerry Angelo said in a team press release. "He compromised the credibility of our organization."

Smith was among the 147 names on Johnson's county jail visitor list and was a strong supporter, frequently referring to Johnson as "a good person." He was particularly disappointed by the latest development.

"A lot of people within our organization gave extra time and energy to support Tank: players, coaches and our front office," Smith said in the release. "We did our best to establish an environment for him to move forward. Ultimately, Tank needed to live up to his side of the deal."

By itself, driving 40 m.p.h. in a 25 zone at 3:30 a.m. and "being impaired to the slightest degree," in the words of Gilbert Police Sgt. Andrew Duncan, would not be enough to terminate employment immediately. But the Bears have been holding Johnson's hand for the last two years, since June 11, 2005, when he was charged with unlawful possession of a handgun after Chicago police found a loaded 9-mm Ruger in his parked car outside a downtown nightclub.

Under terms of his newly established "personal conduct" policy, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell suspended Johnson for the first eight games of the 2007 season for violation of his probation on the gun charge. The suspension could have been reduced to six games with good behavior.

Carrying Johnson for half a season simply became more trouble than it was worth for the Bears.

"We made it clear to him that he had no room for error," Angelo said. "Our goal was to help someone through a difficult period in his life, but the effort needs to come from both sides. It didn't, and we have decided to move on."

It wasn't that the Bears couldn't use Johnson on the field. A judge allowed him to leave Illinois to play in the Super Bowl in February, and in Smith's defensive scheme, no position is more important than tackle. Pro Bowl star Tommie Harris is coming off a leg injury, reliable Ian Scott signed with Philadelphia and Alfonso Boone signed with Kansas City.

But Johnson wasn't so good that the Bears could afford his perpetual presence on their weekly calendar: Monday, check up on Tank; Tuesday, game plan; Wednesday, practice; Thursday, tuck in Tank; Friday, apologize for Tank.

Cornerback Nathan Vasher signed a five-year contract extension with the Bears on Monday, a positive development quickly overshadowed by the latest Johnson news. Vasher, one of several Bears players who visited Johnson in jail, understood why the team's patience toward his troubled teammate finally ran out.

"It's really hard to see him go through some of the things he has," Vasher said. "But the Bears were kind of pushed into a corner. ... I think you have to be accountable for your actions, and the Chicago Bears had to do what was needed.

"I am surprised," Vasher added. "I was really convinced that Tank had more than thought about the time he did in prison or just every other compromising situation he has been in, not to jeopardize [his career] any further."