boyd was not always popular with rank-and-file officers. many officers were critical of boyd and pushing their police union to hold a non-confidence vote in the chief, with one former edmonton constable saying that boyd created a hostile work environment. one of boyd's recent directives required his officers to use only clean language with even the foulest of criminals, causing resentment among the ranks. in the summer of 2009, a photo of boyd with the caption "i can't hear you over the sound of how awesome i am" was circulated among police staff by e-mail, prompting boyd to launch an investigation. boyd then worked to improve morale among the force and was complemented for his efforts by the head of the edmonton police association, tony simioni.