LIHU'E, Kaua'i — The Kaua'i Police Commission has called a special meeting tomorrow to discuss the removal of Chief K.C. Lum.

Commission chairwoman Carol Furtado said no final action on Lum's job will be taken at the meeting, which is being called in response to Mayor Bryan Baptiste's recommendation that the commission fire the chief.

"We'll be looking at the process. In order to move forward, we need to know what we're moving forward with," Furtado said.

Lum, who has held the county's top law enforcement job since September 2004, is fighting calls for his removal.

Last week, he filed a racial discrimination and civil rights lawsuit in federal court, saying he was the subject of a racial slur by police commission member Leon Gonsalves Sr. The suit also alleges that county officials retaliated against him and sought to undermine his authority when he complained about it.

Furtado said she is not sure how the legal case affects the commission's ability to act.

"It's not simple," she said.

Lum leads a deeply troubled department that is dealing with several lawsuits filed by police officers against the department and other police officers, an increase in employee grievances, allegations of corruption, an FBI investigation on undisclosed issues, and a pending County Council investigation. The State of Hawai'i Organization of Police Officers, the union representing police statewide, has called for Lum's removal.

Baptiste said that when Lum was hired, the mayor told the chief that one of the gauges of his performance would be whether he could unite the divided department. Lum has not, Baptiste said.

Reach Jan TenBruggencate at jant@honoluluadvertiser.com.