Commander Norman Wielsch (of the Central Contra Costa County Narcotics Enforcement Team) and Private Investigator Chris Butler (of Butler and Associates) were arrested for selling anabolic steroids and narcotics according to a 28-count criminal complaint. Wielsch and Butler allegedly stole anabolic steroids from the property room at the Contra Costa Sheriff’s Office and sold them illegally.
According to the complaint, some of the drugs Wielsch and Butler sold were stolen from the Contra Costa Sheriff’s property room and Wielsch’s own narcotics task force headquarters in Pleasant Hill. In another instance, according to the complaint, the two men are accused of selling illegal steroids Wielsch was supposed to have destroyed and deposited in a landfill.
Bodybuilders have often joked that steroids seized during busts may end up being used by cops. In other words, cops may become vulnerable to corruption and participation in the illicit bodybuilding steroid subculture. Meanwhile, journalists seem to be overly concerned about the wrong thing when it comes to cops and steroids. They focus on the danger to public safety due to the alleged occurrence of “roid rage” by cops on steroids.
While news reports have not accused Wielsch of actual steroid use, cops using anabolic steroids are participating in a criminal activity. Such participation is a slippery slope which make them vulnerable to further involvement in steroid distribution, and possibly blackmail, due to the illegal status of anabolic steroids in the United States.
The real problem with cops using steroids does not involve roid rage and/or health concerns. It involves the potential corruption involving law enforcement participation in illegal steroid distribution networks.
About Millard Baker