The police oath to obey, uphold and maintain the law tends to go out the window when cops look for a way to justify their non-medical use of anabolic steroids. They often place themselves above the law.
Cops on steroids are particularly susceptible to corruption and participation in illegal drug markets at varying levels. Sometimes it’s just so they can use steroids. Sometimes it is so they can make money selling steroids either as a reseller of an established brand or as the manufacturer of their own private label underground lab (UGL). Cops may even often protection to their steroid sources by alerting them to undercover investigations thereby putting the safety of their fellow officers in jeopardy. Sometimes cops go completely rogue and steal drugs from evidence rooms.
Then there are those cops that look for a creative way to “legally” obtain and sell steroids. They think they can manipulate the law to find a loophole that will facilitate their own personal steroid use as well as giving them a supplemental income by selling steroids to others. The “legal” aspects are usually questionable.
Dewitt McDonald, an eighteen-year veteran officer with the West Palm Beach Police Department (WPBPD), was convinced that he could open his own anti-aging and longevity clinic to legally satisfy his desire for anabolic steroids for himself and those of his colleagues.
McDonald got the brilliant idea for his own steroid-prescribing clinic from being a client/patient of the now-defunct PowerMedica longevity clinic back in 2005. It didn’t matter that McDonald was one of thirteen WPBPD officers who were disciplined as a result of their relationship with PowerMedica. The officers were suspended for engaging in conduct unbecoming an officer, the failure to notify a commander of their use of controlled substances (anabolic steroids) and the failure to establish proper doctor-patient relationships.
Furthermore, PowerMedica owner Daniel Dailey ended up pleading guilty to illegally conspiring to distribute anabolic steroids in May 2010 for his role in PowerMedica. Daily was sentenced to 46 months in prison which was ultimately reduced to 28 months
McDonald remained undeterred by his suspension from WPBPD and the incarceration of Dailey. The opening of an anti-aging and longevity clinic was still McDonald’s solution for easy access to steroids.
In 2013, McDonald opened not one but two steroid-prescribing clinics – Prime Performance Wellness Centers in Lake Worth and the Prime Health and Rejuvenation Clinic in Wellington. McDonald’s use of his anti-aging clinic to supply cops with steroids.
In the months that followed, federal prosecutors launched an investigation into the distribution of steroids among law enforcement officers in Palm Beach County. The feds believed McDonald was illegally obtaining anabolic steroids and prescription drugs such as testosterone and Deca Durabolin by means that included forging the signatures on the prescription pads used by his clinic doctors and alter valid prescription by adding additional drugs.
The investigation culminated with the United States Attorney’s Office bringing charges against McDonald in April 2014. A federal complaint accused McDonald of selling steroids to various individuals, including his fellow officers at the WPBPD, over a period of 18 months. McDonald was charged with one felony count of carrying a firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime based on the allegation that he illegally sold steroids while on duty and in full uniform while carrying his Smith and Wesson.
The criminal justice system has little sympathy for corrupt cops who make the bad decision to participate in illegal drug markets. McDonald was sentenced to five years in federal prison by U.S. District Judge James I. Cohn in July 2014.
The Complete Series: When Your Local Cops Are Steroid Dealers
- Part 1 – The Newton Police Department
- Part 2 – The Philadelphia Police Department
- Part 3 – The Arlington Police Department
- Part 4 – The West Yorkshire Police Department
- Part 5 – The Niagara Regional Police Service
- Part 6 – The West Palm Beach Police Department
- Part 7 – The Boston Police Department
- Part 8 – The King County Sheriff’s Office
- Part 9 – The Secaucus Police Department
- Part 10 – The Edmonton Police Service