Lesson No. 1: If an old Cuban guy offers your buddy some sex-enhancement cream, be a little skeptical.
At least that might be the takeaway for Miami Beach Police Detective Reinaldo Casas, a respected homicide detective who was fired in February 2013 after failing a random drug test.
There was cocaine in his system.
Having never knowingly used cocaine, I was baffled, perplexed and confused, Casas wrote in a union grievance he filed after losing his job, according to The Miami Herald .
For a member of a profession known for its code of fraternal secrecy, Casas must have been terrified at having to explain how it may have happened.
Casas has a problem with erectile dysfuntion. The cocaine, it seems, wound up in his bloodstream because of an erection-inducing cream that he applied to his crotch.
An arbitrator disagreed with the police departments position that Casas claim was incredible and ordered the detective back on duty with full back pay. The arbitrators report was released Thursday, and it stated that, there is no evidence in the record to show that the Grievant was aware the cream contained a controlled substance.
At a subsequent hearing, Casas claimed that a buddy named Idilio Godinez gave him a Vaseline-like substance and told him it would help Casas with his, um, problem.
Godinez also testified, saying that he didnt know what the cream contained as it had been given to him as a thank-you from an old Cuban guy. He did, however, know that it worked.
Despite the fact that the cream did test positively for containing cocaine, Miami Beach Chief of Police, Ray Martinez directly testified that he terminated Casas because he willingly and knowingly ingested cocaine, and this is not acceptable, according to the arbitrators report .
The arbitrators decision is binding, and the police department must comply with his ruling.
Having never knowingly used cocaine, I was baffled, perplexed and confused, Casas wrote in a union grievance he filed after losing his job,