Former San Francisco 49ers lineman Ray McDonald was arrested in Santa Clara Monday on suspicion of domestic violence and child endangerment in the attack of a woman holding a baby, prompting the Chicago Bears to release him after less than three months on the team, officials said.

In a statement only hours after McDonald’s arrest, the Bears’ general manager, Ryan Pace said, “We believe in second chances, but when we signed Ray we were very clear what our expectations were if he was to remain a Bear. He was not able to meet the standard, and the decision was made to release him.”

Kyle Long, McDonald’s now-former teammate in Chicago, posted this Tweet minutes after the team’s announcement: “Good riddance.”

The Bears’ decision to drop McDonald so quickly came in stark contrast to the 49ers’ decision to wait for months before dropping him after a series of run-ins off the field.

It was a stunning denouement for McDonald, who has been the subject of legal scrutiny for months.

The latest incident happened in the early hours of Memorial Day, police said. McDonald allegedly attacked the woman at his Santa Clara home about 3:45 a.m., said Santa Clara police Lt. Kurt Clarke.

Police did not release details, but scanner recordings reviewed by The Chronicle indicate that officers were sent to an apartment on Carlyle Court by the alleged victim’s mother. Dispatchers said the mother told them that McDonald, her daughter’s boyfriend, “was being violent” and had been drinking.

The caller told the dispatchers that the victim, who has an infant daughter, had locked herself in her bedroom but that McDonald had broken the door down. It’s not clear if the infant is also McDonald’s daughter.

An officer responded on the radio that he believed the suspect “might be the (ex-) 49ers player.”

“Officers tried to locate Mr. McDonald, but he wasn’t there,” Clarke said. “He had fled after the incident, so we were able to locate him in the 2200 block of Terra Nova Lane” in San Jose, Clarke said.

McDonald was arrested about 7:30 a.m. at the San Jose home, which is owned by Justin Smith, the 49ers defensive tackle who retired last week. McDonald was booked at Santa Clara County Jail on suspicion of misdemeanor domestic violence and child endangerment. He posted $15,000 bail Monday afternoon and declined to speak to reporters.

The arrest is the latest in a spate of incidents that have led to law-enforcement scrutiny of McDonald.

In August, he was arrested on suspicion of felony domestic violence against his then-fiancee, but charges were never filed. It is unclear if that woman is the same person involved in the current incident. The incident took place during a 30th birthday party that McDonald had thrown for himself.

In December, San Jose police said they were investigating McDonald for an alleged sexual assault. The alleged victim was drinking at a San Jose bar with McDonald and other friends before going to his house, police said. The woman said she was near the pool when she fell, hit her head and then woke up the next morning naked in bed with McDonald, authorities said. McDonald has sued the woman for defamation.

In December, the 49ers cited a “pattern of poor decision-making” in releasing McDonald, who listed his home on Bentley Ridge Drive in San Jose for sale in January.

In March, he signed with the Chicago Bears.

Henry K. Lee is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: hlee@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @henryklee