British policeman sacked for steroids use even though perfectly legal.
A bodybuilding police officer has been sacked after using steroids to boost his physique.
Sgt Darren Towers has been dismissed by Northumbria Police for gross misconduct after he admitted using the class C drug in court.
His dismissal comes following a detailed and lengthy probe by the force?s Counter Corruption Unit into the officer?s behaviour outside of work.
The amateur bodybuilder was initially arrested last year and charged with conspiracy to supply steroids.
However, he was cleared of drug dealing following a trial at Newcastle Crown Court.
But the force conducted their own misconduct proceedings against the 41-year-old, despite him being cleared of all charges.
Sgt Towers said he strongly disputes the decision.
A spokeswoman said: ?Northumbria Police expects that officers and staff adhere to the highest possible standards of professional conduct.
?Where those standards fall below the required level, we always take robust action. Following the court case, the evidence was reviewed and a decision was taken that there was still a case to answer for gross misconduct.
?An internal investigation was carried out and a hearing took place on July 11 to July 13. The outcome in this case was a finding of gross misconduct and Towers has been dismissed from the force with immediate effect.?
Sgt Towers, who had been suspended from duty since his arrest in June last year, admitted using steroids but insisted it was legal to have them for personal use, which it is.
During his trial, held last December, he told how he had originally started using them in the 1990s.
Prosecutors claimed he conspired with two other men, Martin Fannan and Martin Flett, to supply the drug among friends.
A former member of the Royal Navy, Sgt Towers, from Jarrow, gave up steroids in 1998 because he wanted to become a police officer after becoming a jujitsu black belt.
The officer, who worked as a custody sergeant in Sunderland, admitted starting to use steroids again in 2006 when he began training for bodybuilding competitions, but said he thought it was not against the law to have them for personal use.
He said he felt ?confident? he was not breaking the law after checking on the internet.
The people arrested with Sgt Towers ? Flett, 27, from Ely Way, Fellgate, Jarrow, and Fannan, 34, a doorman from Hudson Avenue, Horden, County Durham ? were given conditional discharges for two years after admitting conspiracy to supply steroids.
A bodybuilding police officer has been sacked after using steroids to boost his physique.
Sgt Darren Towers has been dismissed by Northumbria Police for gross misconduct after he admitted using the class C drug in court.
His dismissal comes following a detailed and lengthy probe by the force?s Counter Corruption Unit into the officer?s behaviour outside of work.
The amateur bodybuilder was initially arrested last year and charged with conspiracy to supply steroids.
However, he was cleared of drug dealing following a trial at Newcastle Crown Court.
But the force conducted their own misconduct proceedings against the 41-year-old, despite him being cleared of all charges.
Sgt Towers said he strongly disputes the decision.
A spokeswoman said: ?Northumbria Police expects that officers and staff adhere to the highest possible standards of professional conduct.
?Where those standards fall below the required level, we always take robust action. Following the court case, the evidence was reviewed and a decision was taken that there was still a case to answer for gross misconduct.
?An internal investigation was carried out and a hearing took place on July 11 to July 13. The outcome in this case was a finding of gross misconduct and Towers has been dismissed from the force with immediate effect.?
Sgt Towers, who had been suspended from duty since his arrest in June last year, admitted using steroids but insisted it was legal to have them for personal use, which it is.
During his trial, held last December, he told how he had originally started using them in the 1990s.
Prosecutors claimed he conspired with two other men, Martin Fannan and Martin Flett, to supply the drug among friends.
A former member of the Royal Navy, Sgt Towers, from Jarrow, gave up steroids in 1998 because he wanted to become a police officer after becoming a jujitsu black belt.
The officer, who worked as a custody sergeant in Sunderland, admitted starting to use steroids again in 2006 when he began training for bodybuilding competitions, but said he thought it was not against the law to have them for personal use.
He said he felt ?confident? he was not breaking the law after checking on the internet.
The people arrested with Sgt Towers ? Flett, 27, from Ely Way, Fellgate, Jarrow, and Fannan, 34, a doorman from Hudson Avenue, Horden, County Durham ? were given conditional discharges for two years after admitting conspiracy to supply steroids.