Report: Former UW Police Chief had relationship with subordinate

MADISON, Wis. -- ​Former UW-Madison Police Chief Kristen Roman resigned from the department on February 11, after an investigation into parking violations revealed a relationship between her and a subordinate, according to documents delivered from an open records request to the University of Wisconsin.

Roman originally faced an investigation after an employee complained about Roman improperly tracking mileage and failing to pay parking fees. During the course of interviews with police personnel about the violations, investigators were told many believed Roman was in a romantic relationship with an employee (whose name was not released in the records provided).

Investigators were told Roman and the other employee spent the majority of days in each other's office with the door closed, the employee was included in meetings that historically only included sworn officers, and Roman advocated for a pay raise for the employee, according to the records.

A greeting card was found in Roman's office from the employee. A note written inside the card said, "Over the past several months I have come to realize just how special you are to me. I have appreciated our chats, our time together and our ability to connect on such a deep level. Today & everyday I am grateful for the person you are! Thank you for being a light in my darkness, a heartbeat that keeps me upright and a strength that allows me to keep moving. Life with you in it has become more enjoyable."

The report states Roman performed a factory reset of her cell phone, but UWPD Information Technology was able to find communication between the employee over text messages and Microsoft Teams. The communications showed a number of affectionate messages between Roman and the employee, according to the records.

The employee resigned and would not sit for an interview with investigators, but did agree to answer written questions. The employee said they had a discussion about entering a romantic relationship with Roman in January 2024, after Roman said she was getting a divorce in December 2023. The text message communication between the two predates those dates by more than four months. Investigators were told the employee did not see a reason to report the relationship because there was no UWPD policy requiring doing so.

Roman told investigators she thought the employee had a "work crush" and she told the employee she was married and her superior. She said the romantic relationship started between the end of December 2023 and beginning of January 2024. Roman ultimately reported the relationship to a Vice Chancellor on January 24, 2024.

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