Steroids: a threat to police officers

Medina- For 10 years, Troy Flohr was among Medina County's most trusted deputies, a fearless officer who worked nights.

He trained rookies, rarely missed a shift and earned the respect of superiors who described him in his last job evaluation as "a role model because of his dedication and commitment to excellence."
    
No one knew Flohr, 35, needed help.

The onetime deputy of the year, who served in the Marine Corps during the Persian Gulf War, said he struggled with chronic fatigue until he discovered something on vacation that made him feel stronger.

Illegal steroids.

"I never wanted to look like Arnold," Flohr said, referring to muscled actor and former champion bodybuilder Arnold Schwarzenegger. "I was tired of being tired. I wanted to feel better."

Flohr, who resigned last month, was sentenced yesterday to 90 days of house arrest for possessing illegal steroids, at least the third Ohio police officer to be so charged in the past year.

Medina Police Chief Dennis Hanwell, head of the board that funds the county's drug task force, said a federal agent briefed the panel after intercepting steroids mailed to Flohr from Yugoslavia.

"His position was, 'This is not an isolated incident,' " he said.

Postal inspectors, who refused interview requests, asked Flohr to appear in a short educational video that would outline the risks illegal steroid use poses to a police officer's career.

Flohr said they believed it might dissuade others from using illegal muscle-builders.

There is scant research on the subject of steroid abuse among police, said Larry Gaines, former executive director of the Kentucky Chiefs of Police Association and a police research consultant.

"But I think it's a larger problem than people think," he said.

Gaines, who co-authored one of the few research papers on police abuse of anabolic steroids, pointed out routine drug tests do not ordinarily detect steroids, which require special tests.

Most evidence is anecdotal, he said.

An Internet search for "police and steroid use" turned up news stories from Colorado, Florida, New York and Rhode Island.

In those cases, officers were suspended for mail-ordering the drugs.

Police in Dover, Ohio, last year fired a patrolman who tested positive for a synthetic anabolic steroid that was developed for veterinary use but has been co-opted by some athletes.

"It was an eye-opener for us," said Dover Police Chief Ronald Johnson.

Illegal steroid abuse has not been a concern for police agencies in the state, said Bay Village Police Chief David Wright, a vice president of the Ohio Chiefs of Police Association.

He said most departments are small. "If someone's lawn mower's broken, everybody knows it," he said, suggesting a sudden change in an officer's physique would trigger an alarm.

Gaines said most officers who use steroids probably juice up to look better.

He scoffed at the notion police officers might be compelled to use steroids because they feared being out-muscled by bad guys on the street. "The bottom line is they give you a damn gun," he said