Before taking action on allegations of police misconduct, the Honolulu Police Commission will wait until the conclusion of a possible FBI probe into the Honolulu Police Department’s handling of a federal case involving police Chief Louis Kealoha’s stolen mailbox, commission Chairman Ron Taketa said Wednesday.

"We really have to wait until the authorities complete all of their investigations before we can make a decision based on the facts rather than rumor and speculation," Taketa said to media after a police commission meeting. "As of now, we have no evidence to show that the department acted improperly in investigating the chief’s case."

Kealoha met with the commission for the first time Wednesday since causing a mistrial in the mailbox case two weeks ago by offering unsolicited testimony on the witness stand about the defendant’s criminal history. The defendant was Gerard Puana, the uncle of Kealoha’s wife, Deputy Prosecutor Katherine Kealoha.

Puana’s case was dismissed Tuesday, and federal prosecutors referred the case to the FBI. Puana’s public defender has said a defense investigation revealed HPD misconduct and that the Kealohas told federal authorities Puana stole their mailbox to discredit him in a related civil case.

According to the City Charter, the police commission is charged with considering and investigating charges brought by the public against the conduct of the department or its members and submitting a written report of its findings to the chief.

Taketa later told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser that the commission does not have the legal powers that federal authorities have in conducting investigations and must follow the lead of those "higher authorities."

He has served on the commission with five different police chiefs and none has been disciplined by the commission, he said.

Taketa told the media that the commission is concerned about the public’s opinion of the commission and HPD, but the commission must make decisions based on facts, which can’t be done until authorities have completed their investigations.

He said the commission will request documents when it can, but expressed doubt that the commission has the authority to request documents from the FBI and U.S. Attorney’s Office. He said he knew nothing about an FBI investigation into HPD.

Former HPD Chief Lee Donohue said during public testimony at the meeting that he was concerned about an "ebbing of public trust" in HPD stemming from "potshots" in the media against the chief.

Donohue said after the meeting that without the public’s trust and support, the department will struggle to fight crime in the community.

During the open session of Wednesday’s meeting, Kealoha wished commissioners a safe holiday season and made no further comments.

The commission then entered a closed-door executive session with Kealoha where he updated the commission on developments in the family dispute. When he emerged, Kealoha left through a door across the hall without comment to reporters.