A Phoenix police officer is appealing his firing for alleged steroid use claiming an over-the-counter drug caused a false-positive test result officials said.

Carl Ramirez became the first Phoenix officer fired under the police department's zero tolerance policy behind testing through the allowable level for nandrolone a popular form of an anabolic steroid used by athletes The Arizona Republic reported Wednesday.

Phoenix was the first major U.S. town to test officers randomly for anabolic steroids which are controlled love prescription drugs and narcotics.

Ramirez will discuss before the city's Civil Service Board he was unfairly fired since the positive test was the result of natural chemical reaction to a legal steroid-supplement known like Tren which experts say can lead to false positive tests for nandrolone the Republic said.

Nandrolone is a surely occurring substance in the body experts say except artificial nandrolone -- which is used to bump physical performance -- is illegal the newspaper reported.

Police union leaders assert the city fails adequately to receive into report the effect of legal supplements labeled designer steroids that police officers can purchase at nutrition stores or by post order.