Steroids are not only popular among bodybuilders and professional athletes. Performance enhancing drugs are also considered a necessity for some jobs which require a healthy and strong body. Law enforcement officers are prone to steroid use because of the nature of their work. Most of them go to gym to build a bigger physique but some decide to take the shortcut by augmenting their workouts with anabolic steroids.

However, taking steroids puts them on the risk of losing their jobs. Different law enforcement agencies in the country ban the use of steroids if it is not prescribe for a legitimate medical condition. The FBI recently charged their own agents for committing this offense. The number of police officers involved in the use of anabolic steroids is also increasing despite the dangers that it may give to them. Added to that is the possibility of losing their jobs once they are caught using steroids not intended for any medical purposes.

Stiff sanction awaits police officers who were involved in the use, possession or distribution of anabolic steroids. In the NY daily News report, a New York City cop was required to render an additional 2 years work as a result of his involvement in steroids. The cop was not terminated from the job but the terms of his sanction is considered as unusual.

Officer Daniel Zehrer entered into a plea deal and agreed to work extra 591 days after his retirement date. Zehrer tested positive for steroids in 2008 when the NYPD conducted random steroid tests. The department was forced to implement random testing due to the alleged involvement of several NYPD officers in the use of steroids. An investigation on a Bay Ridge Pharmacy revealed the names of 27 officers who were purchasing steroids for personal use but failed to prove that it was needed for a medical condition. Operators of the pharmacy were also charged with illegal prescriptions of steroids.

The police commissioner has still to approve the plea agreement. Officials said that the unusual penalty was based on Zehrer’s suspension in 2008 with pay. “Basically the Police Department decided it wanted all those days back. He’s working at a discount. He gets paid, but the extra time doesn’t go towards his pension,” a police source told the Daily News.

Authorities have given more lenient penalties to erring officers especially those who were linked to steroid use. Another police officer who was charged with the use of human growth hormone was only given 1 year probation and forfeited his one month salary. Deputy Chief Michael Marino, a second in command in Brooklyn North received the sanction in September.

As long as these steroids promise stronger and bigger bodies, law enforcement officers will always be tempted to try one.

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