Arlington reinstates police officer who used steroids

by Scott Henson of Grits For Breakfast

Steroid-using police officers expose themselves to black markets and corruption that risk compromising their ability to uphold the law.

Steroids do have a few, um, side effects.

Having discussed recently the quiet but growing problem of steroid abuse among police officers, I was interested to see an article published in the Fort Worth Star Telegram last week about a female officer fired for abusing steroids from the Arlington PD ("Veteran officer gets her job back," Nov. 9).

The Arlington cop admitted to using steroids after police responded to a domestic dispute at her home:

During an arbitration hearing that ended Oct. 18, [Officer Kelly] Lincoln admitted that she had used steroids for less than two weeks in 2006 and that she had steroids in her possession at the time of the incident, the document said.

An arbitrator ruled Wednesday that Lincoln's firing was unreasonable and ordered that she be reinstated within three days of the ruling. The arbitrator said in his report that Lincoln volunteered for a drug test, ceased steroid use well before the domestic dispute and holds both a master's degree and an advanced peace officer certificate.

Lincoln's request for back pay was denied. The arbitrator wrote that the seven months without pay should serve as a reminder to Lincoln of Police Chief Theron Bowman's concerns about maintaining the highest standards within the police force.

"The Legislature passed and the city's leaders enacted the arbitration system," said Lt. Blake Miller, police spokesman. "We will abide by the arbitration process."

Two points to make about this: First, state civil service law shouldn't give arbitrators authority to overrule a police chief's decision to fire police officers. That's why those cities have civil service commissions, and it's unfortunate and misguided - an homage to police union power at the Texas Legislature - that state law gives officers who've engaged in serious misconduct so many extra appeals.

Second, the arbitrator's reinstatement of Officer Lincoln implies that - as a matter of policy if not in the opinion of the Arlington police chief - that steroid abuse is not a firing offense at that agency. After all, the next steroid abusing officer will point to Kelly Lincoln to convince the next arbitrator that firing defies precedent, and on and on it goes.

In related news, an officer allegedly peddling steroids was arrested in Tennessee last week. Allegedly he tipped off dealers about police surveillance in addition to profiting from the product's sale. Maybe it's time to begin demanding steroid testing of police officers, at least when supervisors suspect steroid use as with a new policy in Albuquerque. It would also help matters to conduct more thorough investigations when law enforcement discovers connections between peace officers and illegal steroid rings.

To be clear, I don't necessarily believe steroids should be illegal, although anecdotal tales of "roid rage" might make steroids inappropriate in any case in the law enforcement profession, where officers must always keep their heads. However as long as steroids remain outlawed, officers who use them expose themselves to black markets and corruption that risk compromising their ability to uphold the law. Police chiefs should be empowered to remove such risks from their departments.

Pegasus News content partner - Grits For Breakfast

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Anonymous

Pavel Lishin, says:

"However as long as steroids remain outlawed, officers who use them expose themselves to black markets and corruption that risk compromising their ability to uphold the law."

You can really make that argument against anything currently illegal.

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2 years ago
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Erin Rice, says:

So then cops shouldn't be doing anything illegal. Or we should change the things we define as illegal. Sounds pretty good to me.

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2 years ago
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Justaguy, says:

Once again, the media gets half of the story. Should this officer be fired? Yes! But, what is not covered is why does this department interview and HIRE people to be officers that have done steroids? Duh!

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2 years ago
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Nathan, says:

If memory serves, former "Mr. Universe" Ronnie Coleman was a Arlington police officer. Now that guy was on some juice!

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2 years ago
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justice8910, says:

Once again, the media gets less than half the story. This is such a serious issue on so many different levels. Why hasn’t more attention been paid to the domestic violence aspect of this case? Appearances suggest that Officer Lincoln is the only victim. Is this accurate? She is definitely a victim or her own bad judgment. What about Lincoln’s girlfriend? What about the people Lincoln swore an oath to protect? What about the truth? It’s common knowledge among colleagues and city officials that Lincoln has been a steroid user for years. Why has she been allowed to put herself and the public at risk for so long? The policies and procedures in place to investigate and remedy this situation seem completely inadequate. The public deserves more.