It is well known that anabolic steroid use can affect behavior, leading to increased irritability, aggression and insomnia. According to the National Institute on Drug abuse: "Case reports and small studies indicate that anabolic steroids, when used in high doses, increase irritability and aggression. " Anabolic steroids are used to "bulk up", to add muscle mass very rapidly, and a great many police officers rely on them. The ongoing epidemic of police violence - not just shootings but the use of excessive force against detained persons, even after handcuffed - is out of control, terrifying, and a national disgrace. And "perceived threat", the police justification for that violence is getting less and less believable.
An article on anabolic steroid abuse by police officers in the July 2015 issue of "The Police Chief", published by the International Association of Chiefs of Police talks about "roid rage" and "exceptionally muscular" police officers. The article states that "If the stories of ’roid rage are true, how often are the officers who use anabolic steroids involved in unnecessary use-of-force incidents that could become a major liability for their agencies? Considering the legal issues, health effects, and . . . costs associated with inappropriate use, agencies should proactively address this issue."
We, the public, demand that police and other law-enforcement agencies, and private security firms too, follow this crucial and timely advice! Testing for Anabolic-Androgenic Steroid abuse is not easy. But the epidemic of police violence is out of control and such testing is now absolutely necessary. Controlling steroid abuse is a crucial step forward in reigning in excessive police violence.
Not a day passes without several new reports of disproportionate use of police force, often against persons already detained, already restrained by police or actually handcuffed and/or in custody. Whether the detained are innocent or guilty, the infliction of pain, bodily injury and even death far exceeds the level needed for adequate law enforcement. An article in the July 2015 isssue of "The Police Chief"asks ". . . how often are the officers who use anabolic steroids involved in unnecessary use of force incidents . . .? Conisdering the legal issues, health effects and costs associated with inappropriate use, agencies should proactively address this issue." We call on those agencies to do so, on the Justice Department to encourage them to do so and rigorously investigate and prosecute all such incidents, and on the United States Congress to actively legislate to bring steroid abuse by law enforcement personnel under control and thus help reduce endemic and sky-rocketting police violence!
