In a scandal that brought bad vibes to the Boston Police Department, eleven of its police officers were reprimanded, but without a strict action, for their alleged role in a steroid scandal.

The scandal forced many senior police officials to revise and tighten their departmental drug policies and resulted in prison time for four of the involved patrolmen.

Boston Police Commissioner Edward F. Davis was not happy with the action taken against the 11 culprits in uniform. In the announced judgement, seven of the eleven officers who admitted taking steroids at some point in their illustrated careers were asked to undergo a written reprimand to a 45-day suspension without any pay. However, not even one of the eleven officers were fired or will be facing any criminal charges, much to their relief.

From Boston.com:

The punishments were the culmination of an investigation that began in August 2006 soon after the FBI arrested Officer Roberto “Kiko” Pulido for trying to traffic cocaine. Pulido, a steroid user, would guard parties hosted by a convicted drug dealer at an after-hours club in Hyde Park called the “Boom Boom Room.”

Pulido was sentenced to 26 years in prison. Two other officers, Nelson Carrasquillo and Carlos Pizarro, received sentences of 18 years and 13 years, respectively.

Two of the 11 officers were disciplined for going to the club in uniform and while they were on duty. The club sat above an auto body shop on Factory Street, where prostitutes and dancers mingled with police and where alcohol and drugs were readily available.

The Globe reported in March 2008 that a federal grand jury was investigating steroid use and after-hours parties involving Boston officers.

Acting US Attorney Michael Loucks said today that the federal investigation regarding Pulido and steroids use in the Boston Police Department has been closed. Pulido pleaded guilty in November 2008 to charges that he conspired to traffic cocaine and heroin from Western Massachusetts to Jamaica Plain. He was sentenced to 26 years in federal prison.

The disciplinary action against the officers ends one of the most embarrassing chapters in the department’s history, but questions linger about how effective the police can be in controlling steroid use in the department, considering how difficult it is to test for the drug. Unlike other narcotics, steroid testing is much more expensive and results from taking hair samples can be less accurate, resulting in false positives.

However, all the eleven Boston Police officers will be subjected to drug tests during their entire careers.

Posted in Steroids