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A Milwaukee police officer fired after internal investigators found that he solicited prostitutes and lied about it was cleared of wrongdoing Wednesday by the city's Fire and Police Commission.

Daniel Culver will return to duty and receive back pay, according to Cindy Janusz, paralegal for the commission.

The hearing on Culver's appeal lasted less than two hours, and commissioners made their decision after about 10 minutes of deliberations, Janusz said.

Culver, 39, did not testify. He was not criminally charged.

Police Chief Edward Flynn fired Culver in January as a result of an incident that occurred a year earlier.

The case came to light after two men, dressed as women, beat Culver and set his car on fire, according to Fire and Police Commission records and court records.

Ahmad "Diamond" Buckner, 26, and Larenzo "Crystal" Conery, 24, both pleaded guilty to arson for setting fire to Culver's Volkswagen Passat, according to court records.

The two men did not testify at Wednesday's hearing.

"The city didn't have available these two guys that attacked him," said Culver's attorney, John Fuchs. "They're convicted felons, doing time. They wouldn't have much credibility. The city gave the commission (the best) case as it had, and the commission did the right thing with it. There just wasn't enough there."

Culver was off duty when the incident occurred Jan. 16, 2011, according to a complaint that Flynn filed with the commission. Culver initially told police he was stopped at a red light near N. 35th St. and W. Silver Spring Drive when an unknown male jumped into the passenger seat, robbed him and pistol whipped him, the chief's complaint says.

Culver later changed his story, saying he picked up a woman who had asked him for a ride. She then pulled a knife out of her purse and demanded money, he said. Culver told a detective he decided to pull to the side of the road and give the woman $25 or $30 from his pocket, in hopes she would get out of the car if he did. Instead, she hit him in the head with the knife and knocked him out of the car.

Milwaukee County Deputy District Attorney James J. Martin considered criminal charges against Culver but did not issue any, according to the chief's complaint.

"(Martin) opined that although Officer Culver's statements were materially false, the case could not be proved beyond a reasonable doubt because the state would have to call the suspects of the arson of Officer Culver's vehicle as witnesses to prove that Officer Culver solicited prostitutes and obstructed an officer," the document says.

Buckner and Conery both told police they were passengers in Culver's car when a fight broke out, according to the criminal complaint against them. The complaint does not give the reason for the fight, but police sources said it started after Culver realized Buckner and Conery were men. Conery, who sometimes uses the name Angela instead of Crystal, told police he pulled a knife, struck Culver in the head and pushed him out of the car.

Buckner and Conery then drove the car to a vacant lot in the 4300 block of N. 19th Place. When they found a gas can in the trunk, they decided to set the car on fire to destroy any DNA evidence that might be inside, Buckner told police.

Both were sentenced to two years of probation and jail time.

Culver has been with the Police Department since 1997. In 2006, he was suspended for two days and ticketed for being in a tavern after hours, according to a Journal Sentinel investigation. He was among at least 93 Milwaukee police officers who had been disciplined after internal investigators determined they violated laws or ordinances.