A former Alabaster Police officer has been arrested and charged with first-degree domestic violence and is being held in the Shelby County Jail on a $500,000 bond.

William Edgar “Eddie” Lovelady III served as an officer with the Alabaster force in the 1980-90s, before taking a position with Ernest McCarty Ford.

Lovelady is accused of beating his wife, Susan, with a baseball bat.

This is not the first violence charge for Lovelady, who was accused of assaulting a black woman in September 1996.

Lovelady, who is white, was accused of beating Mary Alice Dowdell with his handcuffs following a traffic stop, according to an Associated Press story.

Dowdell contended Lovelady beat her with his handcuffs, leaving bruises on her face and causing her to get approximately 90 stitches.

Lovelady, who was placed on administrative leave during the investigation, claimed members of Dowdell’s family assaulted him and two other officers.

According to a story in the Shelby County Reporter, officers claimed Dowdell was pulled over at a Chevron gas station on U.S. 31 north of Interstate 65 after she was seen receiving something through her window in a high drug area.

Officers claimed Dowdell’s son attacked them and that Dowdell was accidentally struck while they were trying to subdue her son.

Dowdell claimed she was intentionally struck.

Lovelady was reassigned to a different area and was placed back on duty seven weeks after the incident after the FBI released a preliminary report.

The incident captured national news attention and led to many racially charged protests in the city.