The Maui Police Department has fired an officer who now faces up to 30 years in prison for allegedly tasing a man without legal justification.
Carlos Frate, 40, allegedly deployed the taser during a disorderly conduct case on Jan. 6 in Kihei.
In a two-count indictment, Frate is also accused of falsifying a police report to cover up the incident.
Court documents say Frate wrote that the man took a fighting stance when he was asked to get out of a car. Frate also wrote the man disobeyed orders to get on the ground.
The indictment says in actuality, the man did not take a fighting stance and Frate fired his taser without ordering the man to get on the ground.
Frate is also accused of firing the taser a second time while the man was on the ground with his hands raised in surrender.
MPD says they referred the case to federal authorities and terminated Frate who served 14 years with the department.
A federal grand jury indicted Frate for deprivation of civil rights and false reporting.
Frate has an arraignment scheduled Jan. 22.
In 2016, Frate was charged for violating a warning citation that was issued following a domestic abuse investigation.
