Metro police to test for steroids

By KATE HOWARD • Staff Writer (Tennessean) • June 16, 2008 Metro police announced today that they've added anabolic steroids to their random drug testing policy, spurred by an international investigation into steroid use and sales that has led to the decommissioning of three Metro officers. The addition will more than triple the cost of each of the 300 random drug tests the police department completes each year, according to a release today. Previously, the department tested for marijuana, cocaine, amphetamines, methamphetamines, opiates and PCP. “This police department insists on the highest standards of behavior from our employees in providing the most professional police services possible," Police Chief Ronal Serpas said in a statement. " It is imperative that the communities we serve have strong confidence that this is an agency totally committed to a drug-free work force. That drug-free definition includes anabolic steroids.” Three veteran Metro officers have been on paid administrative leave since February, when police officials said they were implicated in a wide-ranging federal investigation into anabolic steroids. Police officials have not said whether they're suspected of using or involved in the sale of steroids. A police trainee resigned after he was questioned in connection with the investigation.