A Phoenix police officer who was fired last year for using steroids has been reinstated by the city's police civil service board.
Officer Cedric Tillman was instead given a five-day suspension for testing positive for the performance-enhancing drug Nandrolone.
Tillman is a 40-year-old former wide receiver for the Arizona Rattlers football team. His lawyers argued during his appeal that he was unaware supplements he legally bought could metabolize into Nandrolone or lead to a positive test.
Police chief Jack Harris is disappointed with last week's decision. He says a positive test for any other illegal drug would not have been questioned.
Investigators say Tillman had squirted a steroidlike liquid under his tongue with a syringe and tested "off the charts."
