A former Maui police officer has admitted to repeatedly firing a Taser at a man who was not resisting and did not pose a threat during an arrest in January 2024.

Carlos Frate pleaded guilty in federal court in Honolulu on Friday to one count of using unreasonable force against an arrestee, a federal civil rights violation that carries a possible 10-year prison sentence.

Frate, 40, acknowledged that “he knew his force was unjustified, but he nonetheless continued to tase” the man and ignored pleas for him to stop, according to a statement from the office of Acting U.S. Attorney Kenneth Sorenson.

Frate initially pleaded not guilty to the charge, as well as to a second charge of falsifying an official report in order to cover up his actions, according to court records. Federal prosecutors agreed to drop the second charge as part of the plea agreement.

“Our police officers are entrusted to protect our citizens and perform their duties professionally, and it is the norm here in Hawai’i that our law enforcement officers faithfully serve and protect us,” Sorenson said in a written statement. “In those rare instances where an officer abuses the public trust by using excessive force, that officer will be held accountable and prosecuted.”

The Maui Police Department fired Frate after the incident and referred the case to federal authorities.

Frate initially claimed that when he exited his police car, the man took a fighting stance and “clenched his fists next to his body,” and that the man also disobeyed an order to get on the ground.

In actuality, the man’s hands were open and he was not in a fighting stance as Frate approached him, and Frate fired his Taser before ordering the man to get on the ground, according to court documents. Frate then ordered the man to get on the ground and fired his Taser a second time, even though the man had complied with the order and raised his hand in surrender, federal prosecutors said.

After Frate’s excessive Taser usage injured the man he had been arresting, he falsified the subsequent incident report and lied about what had happened in order to “impede, obstruct, and influence the investigation and proper administration of that matter,” federal prosecutors said in a four-page indictment filed in January.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation based on a referral from the Maui Police Department, and the case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael F. Albanese and Trial Attorney Julia White, according to the statement from the office of Acting United States Attorney Kenneth M. Sorenson.

In 2016, Frate was charged with violating a warning citation that was issued following a domestic abuse investigation and temporarily assigned to desk duty.

Frate also faces a fine of up to $250,000 and up to three years of supervision following his release. He is scheduled for sentencing on Jan. 6. He also agreed to pay restitution, according to the terms of his plea agreement.

Civil Beat’s coverage of Maui County is supported in part by a grant from the Nuestro Futuro Foundation.