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FALL RIVER — Two police officers who testified before a Superior Court grand jury against a fellow officer, leading to a 15-count indictment against the latter for alleged use of excessive force, were granted immunity before admitting in court they also filed false police reports.

Those officers remain on the job at Fall River Police Department.

However, according to court filings obtained by The Herald News, the Bristol County District Attorney’s Office wants a Superior Court judge to allow disclosure of the police officers’ secret grand jury testimony to Fall River Police Chief Albert Dupere.

Thomas Roberts and Shawn Aguiar are identified in the filings by Bristol County Assistant District Attorney Michael A. Cahillane as the two police officers who testified against officer Michael Pessoa, who is on unpaid leave.

Pessoa was arraigned June 27 and pleaded not guilty in Superior Court on the 15 felony charges shortly after a grand jury handed up the indictment.

He is accused of assaulting four people during arrests over several years.

The district attorney has since dropped criminal charges against the four accusers.

In the court filing, Cahillane wrote, “It is essential to effective and safe law enforcement to disclose this information to the governmental employer of these individuals, without further delay. ...

“The interests of justice mandate transparency in the circumstances of this case, so that the governmental employer has all the information necessary to enforce its disciplinary rules regarding specifically named employees and to supervise and train its other employees, to prevent any repetition of the conduct that is alleged here.”

Because of the secret nature of the grand jury proceedings, the prosecutor needs permission from a judge to share the officers’ testimonies.

On Monday, Dupere told The Herald News he learned last Wednesday of allegations regarding Roberts and Aguiar, adding that the department is conducting an investigation.

"We received some information that there may or may not be a problem with their testimony," Dupere said, referring to the officers.

Roberts and Aguiar were assigned to in-house duty late last week, said Dupere.

Former Fall River police officer Andre Demelo is also identified in the court documents, which indicate he was not given immunity by the Bristol County District Attorney’s Office and did not testify against Pessoa. However, evidence presented to the grand jury "indicates" that Demelo also filed at least one false police report, the documents show.

Demelo resigned from the police department the same day Pessoa was indicted, following seven years with the department. As of Monday, no charges had been filed against Demelo, according to a review of court records.

Demelo was also a co-defendant with Pessoa in a federal excessive force civil lawsuit the city recently settled for $225,000, stemming from a local man who suffered a broken tibia and other injuries during a 2014 arrest.

The plaintiff in the case, Carlos Roldan, is named as one of the four alleged victims in the criminal case against Pessoa. Roberts and Demelo were also present during Roldan’s arrest, according to police records.

No investigation has been launched into any allegations regarding Demelo and false police reports, according to the chief.

Another of Pessoa’s alleged victims was arrested at the victim's South Main Street apartment complex Feb. 12. Officers Roberts, Aguiar and Demelo responded to that call with Pessoa, police records show.

A defense attorney who initiated legal action against the city last month alleged that Roberts, Aguiar and Demelo watched as Pessoa “brutally attacked” his client, David Lafrance, then “continued their assault” on Lafrance in a police cruiser.

In connection with the incident, Pessoa was charged with assault and battery, violating Lafrance’s civil rights, witness intimidation and filing a false police report. Prosecutors also allege Pessoa filed a false report of that evening’s events.

On Aug. 14, Superior Court Judge Thomas McGuire Jr. allowed Cahillane’s request to impound the motion to disclose to the police department Roberts’ and Aguiar’s grand jury testimonies.

A hearing on the motion to disclose is set for Aug. 28.

Email Amanda Burke at aburke@heraldnews.com. Email Jo C. Goode at jgoode@heraldnews.com.