Plano steroid prosecutions ignore alleged police doping

by Scott Henson of Grits For Breakfast

With disgraced sprinter Marion Jones heading home to Austin this week from a federal prison and the feds prosecuting amateur bodybuilders in Plano for steroid use, I continue to wonder with each new headline when the same level of attention will be focused on steroid use by police officers, particularly in the Plano case?

Steroid dealer David Jacobs and his bodybuilder girlfriend died under suspicious circumstances that police ruled a murder-suicide soon after he accused police officers from five Metroplex departments of being his customers. (Today's coverage inexplicably doesn't mention the police angle, but see these prior Grits posts and others linked below for background.)

It's a lot more important for public safety to ensure cops aren't using illicit steroids than is policing foot races or body building competitions, but you wouldn't know that by paying attention to state and federal enforcement priorities.

After Jacobs' death, no law enforcement agency disciplined any of his alleged police officer clients; of the five, only Dallas PD implemented steroid testing going forward. Otherwise, the officers Jacobs sold to have never been identified or disciplined, and are likely still on the force using illicit steroids.

In that light, there's a bold hypocrisy to pursuing amateur bodybuilders who were for the most part also merely Jacobs' clients. What's good for the goose is good for the gander. If they're prosecuting bodybuilders who bought steroids from Jacobs, the police officers who purchased from him should be pursued just as aggressively.