LAPD Investigating Drug Abuse Within Its Ranks
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In the wake of a federal indictment accusing a West Los Angeles doctor of the illegal distribution of steroids, the Los Angeles Police Department disclosed Friday that it is investigating abuse of the drug within its ranks.
Police officials would not elaborate on how many officers are under investigation. But Police Commission President Stanley Sheinbaum said as many as 12 officers may have been among the clientele of Dr. Walter F. Jekot, a physician indicted this week on charges of prescribing the drug to athletes and bodybuilders.
After athletes, law enforcement officials are widely considered the group most inclined to use anabolic steroids, experts and federal authorities say, because of the importance of strength and physical size to their job.
The drug is used to build muscles, but its side effects can prove disastrous. It was outlawed earlier this year in uses other than a limited medical application.
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