Long Beach : Steroid Use Among Police Officers Is Investigated

Long Beach police administrators are looking into whether any of the city’s officers have illegally used anabolic steroids to build up their muscles, Assistant Police Chief Eugene Brizzolara said this week.

The investigation was prompted by a recent grand jury indictment of physician Walter Jekot, who is accused of illegally distributing the muscle-building drug to his clients, including police officers.

The indictment identified only one Los Angeles police officer by name, but an internal investigation by the Los Angeles Police Department recently accused at least two other officers of using the muscle-building drugs.

Anabolic steroids can be used only for certain medical conditions, according to the federal Food and Drug Administration. But they are popular among some bodybuilders despite the drug’s side effects, which include liver tumors, jaundice, impotency and sterility.

As of Wednesday, Long Beach police officials had not identified any local officers as abusing steroids. And the Long Beach police union has not been asked to represent any officer in a steroids-related investigation, according to John Rose, vice president of the Long Beach Police Officers Assn.