His appointment followed the police services board's controversial 2004 announcement that it would not renew Fantino's contract at the end of his term, a decision which outraged many of Toronto's more conservative city councilors.
In his early media interviews, Boyd stated that he hoped to bring a more collaborative and community-oriented style of leadership to the job than Fantino did, particularly around controversial issues such as racial profiling.
Case Ootes and Hugh Locke, the two conservative members of the police services board, voted against Boyd for that reason.
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.
Although Boyd's contract was renewed in 2008 and would have run until the end of 2011, he and his wife Margo wanted to move back to Ontario to be close to their ailing parents.