Cop ‘Roid Rage: Are Steroids Behind the Worst Police Abuses?

En 2004, the growing menace of steroid abuse by American police officers prompted the federal Drug Enforcement Administration to warn of the “possible psychological disturbances” of juiced-up cops.

La DEA said symptoms included:

• Mood swings (including manic-like symptoms leading to violence)
• Impaired judgment (stemming from feelings of invincibility)
• Depression
• Nervousness
• Extreme irritability
• Delusions
• Hostility and aggression

Four years later, the influential International Association of Chiefs of Police, con 16,000 members around the globe, approved a resolution that “calls upon state and local law enforcement entities to establish a model policy prohibiting the use of illegally obtained steroids” by officers.

That hasn’t happened. Hoy, there still is no standardized policy for steroid testing of cops, and evidence suggests there is less random testing now than a decade ago, under an ever-changing hodge-podge of local directives hammered out through collective bargaining.

Many who follow the issue closely were surprised last month when the 4,000-member Phoenix Police Department, which became the standard-bearer for aggressive testing after a local steroids scandal involving cops and firefighters in 2007, publicly admitted it had stopped fuente: Alternet