LIHU'E, Kaua'i — The Kaua'i Board of Ethics has cleared Police Commissioner Carol Furtado of a charge that she improperly played favorites in the appointment of former Police Chief K.C. Lum, giving him information other candidates lacked.

"I'm glad it's over," Furtado said yesterday. She said she feared that the two-year investigation will dampen people's interest in serving on volunteer boards. She said she had to fight the allegations alone.

The Board of Ethics adopted the recommendation of a hearings officer in the case, retired judge John McConnell. He concluded that while Furtado clearly favored Lum for the police department's top job, there was no evidence that she improperly used her position to provide him with an unfair advantage.

The allegation in the case suggested that Furtado had a "fiduciary duty" to fairly and impartially conduct its effort to find a new police chief.

McConnell did not find that any fiduciary duty exists, but "even if a fiduciary duty exists ... none of the allegations relied on to establish a breach of that duty has been sustained."

"At most, the evidence shows that Furtado may have done a poor job of discharging her duties," McConnell wrote, and he added that the Board of Ethics was not empowered to review job performance.

The decision closes the Board of Ethics' series of probes into the police commission and department.

The board earlier found that police commissioner Michael Ching, had improperly lobbied for Lum's selection. Ching resigned from the commission on learning of the ruling.

Another related ruling helped lead to Lum's resignation. It concluded that his appointment was flawed because of unfair advantage in the selection process. Both the Board of Ethics and the County Council recommended Lum's employment contract be canceled as a result of the process, but Lum retired this past June before the cancellation could take effect.

Furtado continues to serve on the Police Commission, and has another month as its chairwoman and another year in her term. She said the commission is receiving bids for a consultant to assist with the selection of a new chief of police. Meanwhile, Acting Chief Clay Arinaga, whose regular job is to head the department's patrol division, is running the department.

Reach Jan TenBruggencate at jant@honoluluadvertiser.com.