Written By:
Ricardo Kaulessar
February 22, 2008
The Jersey City Police Department (JCPD) last week started an investigation into allegations of officers using steroids. A source inside the department said as many as 52 officers may be involved. The Jersey City Police Department (JCPD) is conducting an internal affairs investigation into allegations of officers using steroids.
Jennifer Morrill, a spokeswoman for the city, issued a statement on Thursday regarding the department's probe saying, "Approximately three weeks ago, Jersey City Police Chief Thomas Comey was notified by the [New York City Police Department] of allegations of steroid abuse by members of the Jersey City Police Department."
She added, "As this is a personnel matter, no further comment can be given pending the outcome of the investigation."
The announcement came on the heels of a WNBC-TV report that broke the news last week. The New York City Police Department had launched its own internal affairs investigation into several officers' alleged use of steroids as the result of a raid on a Brooklyn pharmacy last year.
A source close to the JCPD said as many as 52 Jersey City police officers are allegedly on a list provided to the JCPD by the NYPD as a result of their investigation.
Lowen's Pharmacy in the Bay Ridge section of Brooklyn, N.Y. was raided twice last year by New York State narcotics officers, which led to the seizure of over $8 million in steroids and human growth hormones.
An article in the Dec. 18 edition of the Village Voice reported the steroids provided by Lowen's were prescribed in a number of cases illegally to New York City police officers who allegedly were suffering from hypogonadism - a condition seen usually in older men that causes low levels of testosterone, the principal male sex hormone that plays a key role in sexual functioning.
The investigation into the alleged steroid transactions at the pharmacy had tragic implications, as its owner, John Rossi, was found dead in his store on Jan. 28 after he shot himself twice in what authorities said was a suicide.
Anabolic steroids are controlled substances. Distribution or possession with intent to distribute carries a sentence of up to five years and a $250,000 fine.
Anabolic steroids are manufactured versions of the naturally occurring testosterone, which can be used orally or injected, for proper medical use such as decreasing inflammation or pain due to injury.
They are used by athletes and non-athletes to build up muscle mass to supplement their bulking up via weightlifting, but has always evoked controversy as seen in the current baseball scandal. Star players such as New York Yankees pitcher Roger Clemens were named in a report by former U.S. Senator George Mitchell as allegedly engaging in steroid abuse.
There are side effects that come with steroid use such as shrinking of testicles for male users and breast reduction for female users. More seriously, it could cause liver damage and premature heart attacks and strokes.
But what does all this have to do with Jersey City police officers?
The anonymous JCPD source said a number of officers have been called at a moment's notice for a urine test in the last few days.
Another source who has dealt with the Jersey City Police Department for over a decade said suspicions about steroid use dates back to the 1990s.
An unnamed veteran Jersey City cop joked last week that he's seen colleagues in recent years whose arms are "thicker than his thighs."
If it is found that any officer possessing the steroids even in small amounts for their own use, they can face sentences of up to a year in jail and a $1,000 fine.
