Mar 21 2010
Police Officer Reinstated After Terminated For Trenbolone Use
After fighting his case in the Phoenix Civil Service Board, Carl Ramirez was reinstated to the Phoenix police force. He was terminated last November when his urine sample returned a positive result for nandrolone, an anabolic steroid. The police officer brought his case to the appeals board because he believed he was terminated unfairly. The existing policy does not have a complete list of substances and products that may contain steroids.
The case also sparked debates on the existing drugs policy of the police department. Some believe that there are many flaws in the policy and it does not conform to the established national standards for drug testing. Although the spokesperson of the Phoenix Police said that they are constantly reviewing their policies on the use of prohibited substances and as well as the policies on driving under the influence of alcohol.
Ramirez’ case is controversial since the test result showed that the level of nandrolone was only a little above the normal level. According to experts, taking some supplements may cause the nandrolone level in body to increase. Ramirez took Tren, a steroid-supplement version of trenbolone. It was revealed that Tren can cause a false-positive for nandrolone. This substance is an anabolic steroid popular among professional athletes. Experts also strengthened his case by saying that the result of his urine test would return a very high level of nandrolone if he used illegal injectable steroids.
However, the board still gave Ramirez a 30-day suspension. Based on the report of Arizona Republic, it was the longest given in the Phoenix police. The decision still holds the police officer liable for his actions especially his responsibility of knowing what particular substances he put in his body. The board voted 4-0 and one member abstained.
Ramirez was happy with the decision. “At this point, as long as I’m back to work, that’s all that matters to me,” he said. The officer said that he will warn other officers who want to take any supplement from pills, protein shakes or any other form of supplement that could potentially lead to a positive test. “There’s nothing you can buy as a consumer out in the store that you can guarantee won’t backfire on you,” he said.
The police-union representatives who helped Ramirez said that the department fails to educate officers about supplements containing steroid like substances. The case should become one of the bases in improving the current testing policy of the Phoenix police. In a statement posted on their website, the Phoenix Law Enforcement Association is hoping that the department would come up with a policy that will ensure fairness and be more in line with nationally accepted test norms.
Phoenix police spokesman Sgt. Tommy Thompson cautioned other officers that even Ramirez claimed that he was confused on the ingredients on the supplements, he still received a stiff punishment for violating the policy. “I think that sends a message that it wasn’t as confusing as one might think,” he said. He also added that their policies are constantly being reviewed.
[...] News reports of police officers involved in the use of performance enhancing drugs particularly steroid is not surprising anymore. There are already a lot of incidences where they are caught through drug testing by their respective units or department. There are even some cases where they justify the use of anabolic steroids because they believe it will help them become more effective in catching those criminals. Others may just contend that they use it for medical reasons. However, whatever reasons they may have, it is still considered a violation of law enforcement’s anti-doping policies. Although there are a few cases where disputes in steroids cases favors law enforcers just like the case of a Phoenix police officer. [...]