Cops Accused of Using Steroids to Bulk Up
By SEAN MURPHY
The Associated Press

OKLAHOMA CITY - As a brand-new police officer, Chris Holden wanted to do everything he could to protect himself, especially after he heard about a highway patrolman who was shot to death in a struggle over his gun.

So he began bulking up with steroids.

….Holden was an officer on the streets of Norman for barely two weeks when Oklahoma Highway Patrolman Nikky Green was shot to death on a rural road in 2003. Investigators say the killer wrestled Green’s gun away from him and shot him with it.

…."I wanted to physically prepare myself as much as I could and have the confidence to do my job," he said. "I took anabolic steroids so that I would be stronger. If I got into a fight, I felt I stood a better chance of surviving. I wanted to go home when my shift was over."

"These substances can cause depression and despondency, and here is a person who has a weapon," said Dr. Linn Goldberg, head of Oregon Health & Science University’s Division of Health Promotion and Sports Medicine.

…steroids can also lead to heart disease, liver damage and shrunken testicles, as well as uncontrolled aggression, or "roid rage," which can be especially dangerous in a law officer.