NYPD lieutenant suspended after testing positive for banned substance

A veteran NYPD lieutenant who’s competed in numerous bodybuilding competitions has been suspended for testing positive for steroids.

Lt. Apollo Story had been on desk duty, without his shield and gun, after he was tested for the banned substance. The positive finding came back last week and Story was suspended for 30 days without pay.

Story, who had been assigned to the office of management analysis and planning at One Police Plaza, could not be reached for comment. Lou Turco, who heads the Lieutenants Benevolent Association, said neither he nor Story’s union lawyer would comment, noting they haven’t yet seen the toxicology reports.

Story is obsessed with working out — sporting a six-pack in his Facebook profile picture — and appears to have modeled in the past, police sources said.

He joined the NYPD in July 2008 and later took a year off the get his master’s in public administration at Harvard. On his Harvard profile page, Story is described as “passionate about social justice issues.”

Last year, former NYPD officer Maurice Lemelin was busted in Queens and accused of selling steroids, while off-duty, to undercover officers in a parking lot. He was fired in December 2021. Last month, he pleaded guilty to misdemeanor drug possession and was sentenced to a conditional discharge and fined $1,000.

The NYPD began random testing for steroids in 2008 after authorities learned 19 officers had been prescribed steroids —six of whom tested positive — by a Brooklyn pharmacy investigated as part of a larger probe of illegal steroids.

New rules called for officers to be tested for steroids when they enter the Police Academy and end their two-year probationary period. Prior to that, tests were only given if an officer was suspected of using steroids.

Officers can still use steroids for legitimate medical reasons, but not for body building.

It’s not clear if Story will cite a medical need for steroids.