In a city where the killing of an unarmed black teenager by a white cop has revealed profound racial tensions, Boyd's story represents an anomaly: he is one of just three African-American police officers in a department of 53. [...] In the city of St. Louis, the complaints against Boyd started rolling in nearly a decade ago, not long after he left the police academy. The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department's internal affairs division investigated two allegations of physical abuse against children in 2004 and 2005 but did not sustain them, meaning that the investigation did not reveal sufficient evidence to support the allegations. Internal affairs did sustain the third serious complaint against Boyd, however. In April 2006, Boyd got into an argument with 12-year-old Jerica Thornton while following the girl and her brother home from school, according to a judge's summary of the investigation.

After a verbal altercation turned physical, Boyd tackled the brother to the ground. When Jerica came to his aid, Boyd struck her in the head with his gun. Boyd later claimed that he had pistol-whipped the girl "accidentally." Internal affairs disagreed, recommending that Boyd be dropped from the department's rolls.

Despite the lawsuit, Ferguson may have had a simple motivation in hiring Boyd. Speaking generally, St. Louis University law professor Roger Goldman said departments save money on training by hiring officers who are already licensed. "Why are you willing to overlook that previous misconduct?" he asked. "You might not have that much money." Goldman said this happens in "case after case," particularly in "an area like St. Louis, where you've got something like 55 departments." "It's called the ‘muni shuffle,’" he said. If Ferguson was hoping to save money on Boyd's training, it might wind up spending more in the end. The city is currently defending another lawsuit against Boyd.

File this under: A bit terrifying. Meet Eddie Boyd III: Let's see how this played out.Of course they didn't fire him, and after another incident, Boyd was moved on again. This time to Ferguson. Well, why might they do that? Money. Always money.You can read more about the police's defense of Boyd here