Port St. Lucie cop suspended without pay
Port St. Lucie cop suspended without pay after pills go missing from patrol car
September 21st, 2010 by TCPalm.com
PORT ST. LUCIE — A police officer agreed to an unpaid 15-day suspension after he didn’t properly notify police that 200 pills were missing from his patrol car when he picked up the vehicle from a city contractor, according to recently released records and a lieutenant.
Officer Jedadiah Cotterman agreed to the suspension that ended an internal affairs inquiry focusing on Cotterman’s alleged handling of a June incident that happened when he dropped his patrol vehicle off at Atlantic Collision on Southwest South Macedo Boulevard.
When Cotterman returned to get the vehicle several days later, he noticed two bags containing 200 tablets missing. An Atlantic employee said Cotterman said the medication was “for his liver and if he doesn’t take the medications, his eyes turn yellow,” records show.
The Atlantic employee said the employees are trustworthy and thought the medication inadvertently was thrown out or swept up. The employee offered to reimburse Cotterman even though it wasn’t the business’ standard practice to do so. He gave Cotterman a check for $300.
The Atlantic employee called another officer to explain the situation, and the other officer eventually said an officer would be coming to take a report.
The officer who met Cotterman said Cotterman was “reluctant” to say what the medication was for, saying he was “embarrassed.” He ultimately said it was a steroid he used for weight loss. Cotterman said the medicine was “Oxandrolone” and that he didn’t need a prescription for it. The pills also reportedly “went by the brand name ‘Anavar.’”
The officer did an Internet search and found the medicine did require a prescription.
The officer said he thought Cotterman “was not being truthful about not needing a prescription for the reported missing medication.”
Police spoke with a friend of Cotterman’s who said he sold Cotterman the tablets. The friend described himself as a “supplement meathead” who spends lots of money on protein, testosterone boosters, fat burners and other things. The friend said he sold Cotterman two bottles of “Anavar,” which he said are a “legal, over-the-counter supplement.”
The Anavar cost him $50 per bottle and he sold the two bottles to Cotterman for $100.
He said Cotterman gave him $300 for the “Anavar,” though he said he added $200 to Cotterman’s bill for repayment of a loan he gave Cotterman.
He said “maybe” Cotterman thought he was selling each “Anavar” bottle for $150.
The friend said he told Cotterman that “Anavar” was known as a “fat burner” that promoted weight loss.
Police returned the $300 check to Atlantic Collision.
Lt. Ron Caudell on Monday said investigators had no pills to test to determine exactly what Cotterman had. He said the improper conduct stemmed from Cotterman not properly reporting the items missing from his patrol car.
Police records show the State Attorney’s Office declined to prosecute because of a lack of physical evidence and also because no witnesses could say Oxandrolone was in Cotterman’s possession.
By Will Greenlee
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