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An independent investigator has found that University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Police Chief Michael Marzion displayed "inappropriate and unprofessional" conduct when he traded Internet messages of a sexual nature with a student this spring.

The investigator, former Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Gary A. Gerlach, concluded on Thursday that Marzion did not violate school policies involving discriminatory conduct during the exchanges between April 7 and 15.

The female UWM student said she believed Marzion had engaged in sexually harassing behavior.

Marzion acknowledged that he sent messages to the student, demonstrated a "lack of judgment" and could not explain his conduct. But Gerlach also found the student encouraged the communications, and "in some instances, communications of a sexual nature."

Gerlach said he found the chief's conduct a concern because the campus police department at times investigates reports of campus sexual harassment.

"Given this, his own behavior with members of the UWM community should be above reproach such that he does not subject himself to complaints, such as this one, or concerns about his own conduct," Gerlach wrote to Johannes Britz, UWM provost and vice chancellor.

Gerlach investigated after the UWM Office of Equity/Diversity Services filed a complaint against Marzion on behalf of a female student.

Marzion declined to comment on Saturday. In Gerlach's investigation, Marzion said he used his personal computer and phone when he communicated with the student.

UWM spokesman Tom Luljak said Saturday that Britz has 10 working days to study the report before deciding what action, if any, will be taken.

"The university takes this matter very seriously," and for that reason, the school hired Gerlach as an independent party to investigate, said Luljak, vice chancellor of government relations.

Gerlach recommended that Marzion be disciplined or receive training on sexual harassment, or both.

Marzion and the student met only once, after Marzion sent a message under the user name "shotglass1" on Reddit, a news and social networking site. He asked about a rummage sale the student had held a week earlier. The two agreed to a time when Marzion could visit her home.

He bought a tie, gave her his UWM business card and said to call him if she ever needed anything. It was the only time the two ever had a face-to-face meeting.

About 20 minutes later, Marzion sent her a message on Reddit. The two began exchanging messages of a personal, not professional, nature, according to Gerlach's investigation.

A week later, Gerlach wrote that the communications between the two turned sexual, including the mention of a nude photo the student had previously posted on Reddit. The pair also exchanged messages on Snapchat, a service that allows users to send photos that disappear from the recipient's screen after a few seconds.

The student told two UWM instructors about her interaction with the chief. They advised her to stop communicating with Marzion. Despite this, "the student continued communicating with the respondent," Gerlach wrote. At one point, the student told Marzion she wasn't offended by some of his comments.

The student told Gerlach she continued communicating with the chief because "she wanted to expose him so that he would not engage in this type of behavior with any other students and that by continuing the conversation she could determine whether he was going to cross the line."

Marzion was named interim chief in 2009 after then-chief Pamela Hodermann was demoted for unspecified reasons. He later became chief. Marzion had served as a captain at UWM since 2007 and previously was police chief at UW-Parkside.