Metro police will face steroids test 6/17/08
Metro police will face steroids test 6/17/08
Metro police will face steroids test
By KATE HOWARD Staff Writer
The Metro Police Department will begin randomly testing officers for anabolic steroids.
All officers randomly selected for drug testing will be tested for steroids in addition to the battery of drugs already included in the random drug-testing program. Officers suspected of drug use in a serious work-related accident or under investigation for use of force may be asked to submit to the drug test as well, Metro police spokesman Don Aaron said. The steroid test will not be given during pre-employment screening.
The change is expected to triple the cost of the 300 tests the department administers each year, with a test including steroids priced at about $110.
“The Nashville community expects their police department to set the example for a drug-free workplace, and they should expect us to set the example,” Aaron said.
Three veteran officers have been on paid administrative leave since February after they were implicated in a federal investigation into steroid distribution, Aaron said, and their status won’t change until the investigation is complete. He declined to say whether the officers – Stephen Reece, Danny Cage and Mike Evans – are suspected of using or selling the drug.
Cage and Reece could not be reached for comment. Mike Evans declined to comment.
But Evans’ Nashville attorney, David Raybin, said his client understands the department has to investigate the matter, and Evans expects to be cleared. The department has begun contacting officers to set up interviews, Raybin said, but Evans has not been interviewed or drug tested.
“On behalf of my client, I can say he certainly agrees (testing) would be appropriate and he would welcome any test,” Raybin said. “We’re confident this will be resolved in short order, and (Evans) can get back on the street.”
A similar policy will take effect July 1 in Hendersonville. Human Resources Manager Kay Palmer said the city will add steroids to its random drug tests for all safety personnel.