Bexar deputy's arrest shows police more deserving of steroid investigation than baseball players

As the media continues to rip into Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens over allegations of steroid use, I continue to wonder when the same sort of systematic attention will be paid to steroid use among law enforcement?

When I first raised this issue, more than a few people expressed surprise and said they didn't believe it was common. So since then, I've been paying closer attention when these cases come up, especially in Texas. Last month in San Antonio, a Bexar County Sheriff's Deputy was busted purchasing steroids at his off-duty job as a flea market security guard, reported WOAI radio ("Deputy arrested and charged with drug possession," Feb. 12):

The deputy, 34-year-old Omar Rubio, was taken into custody Saturday. Sheriff's detectives said Rubio was in his full deputy's uniform when he purchased several vials of illegal steroids.

"The sheriff's office started an investigation about 90 days ago into the allegation that Rubio had been purchasing and possibly using steroids," said Deputy Chief Ronald Bennet of the Bexar County Sheriff's Department.

Sources inside the sheriff's office said a tipster warned detectives about the 34-year-old deputy and the illegal body enhancing drugs.

The Bexar Sheriff's department only discovered the deputy's drug use because an informant came forward, not because of departmental testing or other proactive efforts by the Sheriff. In the scheme of things, it's a lot bigger deal if law enforcement officers are engaging in black markets to purchase performance enhancing drugs than if Marion Jones or Andy Pettite did so. But while federal investigators went actively hunting for steroid use among sports stars, apparently abuse among police isn't so big a priority. Authorities usually only go after such cases among law enforcement, as in this instance, when somebody hands it to them on a silver platter.

See prior related Grits posts:

• Where is Congressional investigation of steroid abuse among law enforcement?
  
• Congressional steroid hearings an abuse of power
• Lawsuit: Private mercenaries, police trainers abuse steroids in Iraq
  
• Contrarian views on steroids hysteria
  
• DOJ media ploy on steroid investigation rightly decried as foul
  
• Marion Jones already punished, why send her to prison?
  
• Clemens informant shielded from prosecution: Do snitch agreements give incentives to lie or tell the truth?
  
• Baseball's Mitchell report relies on uncorroborated, coerced informant testimony to accuse 'Rocket' Roger Clemens
  
• Barry Bonds perjury indictment is pure USDOJ media ploy
• Why test Texas high school athletes for steroids but not police officers?
• Arbitrator reinstates steroid using police officer
  
• Cops on Steroids
• Insert Shrunken Testicle Joke Here: Book by ex-Texas cop defends steroid use by police
  
• Feds should check names of steroid customers with state law enforcement registries