Johnson’s bodyguard is shot to death at club

Chicago Bears nose tackle Tank Johnson, already facing weapons charges after a raid on his home, is not responsible for the deadly shooting of his friend inside a nightclub, the player’s attorney said Saturday.

Johnson was cooperating with the investigation into Willie B. Posey’s death Saturday, but police have asked him not to discuss the shooting, attorney Thomas Briscoe said.

“Tank Johnson has absolutely no responsibility for this tragic shooting,” Briscoe said. “He lost a very close friend.”

Police talked to Johnson at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, where Posey was pronounced dead early Saturday, Police Superintendent Phil Cline said.

Posey, 26, died after a fight inside Ice Bar, a club in the trendy River North neighborhood, Cline said.

No one was in custody and the gun was not recovered, Cline added. He said it appears one shot was fired.

The shooting occurred about 12 hours after Johnson offered a public apology to teammates and family for his third arrest in the past 18 months. Briscoe said he did not know why Johnson was at the club.

There was “no information to link him to anything that occurred at the bar at this point in the investigation,” police spokesman Monique Bond said.

The Bears said Saturday they were aware of the shooting, but didn’t mention Johnson.