A Honolulu police commissioner accused of illegally carrying a gun with him on a police ride-along has been cleared of any wrongdoing, according to police and the city prosecutor's office.

Mark D. Hunsaker was accused of committing a felony by bringing a handgun with him on a police ride-along in November 2006, but following an investigation by detectives with the department's internal affairs division, the city prosecutor's office declined to pursue charges against Hunsaker.

"Our office reviewed the facts and circumstances of Mr. Hunsaker's case and has declined prosecution on all charges brought by the Honolulu Police Department against Mr. Hunsaker based on the evidence presented to us at the time of the conferral on Dec. 14, 2007," wrote Lynne Goto Uyema, the city deputy prosecuting attorney in charge of screening cases, in a letter to Hunsaker's attorney, Brook Hart.

"It is my understanding that the Honolulu Police Department has closed their investigation against Mr. Hunsaker and is not actively investigating the case any further."

Carrying a concealed weapon without a permit in Hawai'i is a felony. The maximum penalty for a conviction is five years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

Hunsaker is licensed to own a firearm in Hawai'i but does not have a state license to carry one.

Concealed-carry permits in Hawai'i are rarely granted and must be written and approved by the chief of police or the state Department of Public Safety. They are only granted if the applicant's reasons are "in the best interest of public safety."

In a letter to the executive officer of the police commission, George Y. Clemente, dated Jan. 14, 2008, Honolulu police Chief Boisse P. Correa wrote that "internal affairs initiated a criminal investigation against commissioner Mark Hunsaker for various firearm offenses. I learned of the incident from a newspaper article and a letter from the Honolulu Police Commission outlining their concerns. The cases that were initiated against commissioner Hunsaker were reviewed by the Department of the Prosecuting Attorney. Subsequently, the cases were declined for prosecution," the letter read.

Honolulu police commission chairwoman Christine H.H. Camp said she is glad the investigation is over and said Hunsaker remains in good standing with the commission.

"Because it was one of us (accused of a crime) we felt that it should be looked into," said Camp. "He is in good standing and we're glad that they did a thorough investigation and that this is behind us."

The allegations came after Hunsaker rode with police to an illegal gambling complaint at a cockfight in Wai'anae, according to an investigator's report released by the police commission.

Officer Nathan Santos told a Honolulu police commission investigator that he met Hunsaker during a ride-along with him and his beat partner.

Santos and officers Garrick Orosco and Robert Maguire, who was riding with Hunsaker, responded to a home on Fricke Street in Makaha between 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. sometime in November 2006.

Santos told police commission investigator Dennis Imamura that he saw Hunsaker get out of Maguire's car with a Sig Sauer 9 mm pistol in a holster attached to his belt on his right hip, according to the report.

Santos told Imamura that he asked Hunsaker, "Oh, so you guys (police commissioners) can carry a gun?" and Hunsaker responded affirmatively, according to the commission documents.

However, Orosco and Maguire told Imamura that they did not see Hunsaker carrying a gun.

Maguire told the investigator he saw no gun or holster but said Hunsaker voluntarily told him he routinely carried a weapon.

In an interview Thursday, Hunsaker said the officer misunderstood and that he meant he routinely carries a weapon on the Mainland, not in Hawai'i, and has never carried a gun on any of the 50 ride-alongs he has gone on since joining the commission in March 2006.

In July 2007 Hunsaker became a sworn police officer in his hometown of Arcadia, Kan., and said he has valid permits to carry a concealed firearm in Florida, Arizona, Nevada and the Northern Territory of Australia.

Hunsaker, an accountant with local firm Bowen, Hunsaker and Hirai, maintained from the outset that the accusations against him were bogus.

When Hunsaker rides with police officers, he wears a Kevlar vest and a utility belt with a holster for a police radio, a flashlight, and a cell phone. He said he wears his police commissioner badge on a chain around his neck outside of an untucked aloha shirt.

On the day the alleged incident took place, Hunsaker said he saw police chief Correa at a function promoting safe and sober driving at the Wai'anae police substation dressed in the same clothes he wore on the ride-along that evening.

Hunsaker said Correa later called him after learning of the allegations to tell him that he didn't see Hunsaker with a gun, either.

Hunsaker said he remains committed to the police commission, "despite false allegations against me and the time-consuming process of participating in a criminal investigation that was declined for prosecution for lack of evidence because the allegation was unsupported. I suspect this allegation was maliciously made against me," Hunsaker said.

"Rather than stop what I consider to be effective oversight on my part, I chose not to resign this non-paying position but to hang in there and confront the allegations as well as the individuals who tried to discredit me. It is necessary, very necessary, that civilian oversight of law enforcement be in place and be effective."

Hunsaker said his strict attention to the commission's oversight responsibilities prompted the allegations against him.

Reach Peter Boylan at pboylan@honoluluadvertiser.com.