Trial begins in former Fall River cop's excessive force case. Jurors saw video evidence.

FALL RIVER — Former Fall River police officer Michael Pessoa and fellow officers knowingly lied about the arrest of a city resident in February 2019, then fabricated police reports to cover up an assault by the veteran patrol officer that injured David Lafrance and led to his false arrest, according to Bristol County Assistant District Attorney William McCauley.

But Pessoa was justified to “take Lafrance down” when officers encountered the belligerent and drunken man after receiving a complaint of an altercation with a neighbor, according to Pessoa's defense attorney, Frank Camera.

“Officer Pessoa needed to do what he needed to do,” said Camera.

“What should have been a routine interaction with police turned out to result in him being punched, bruised and battered, injured, arrested, held in custody and false charges brought against him that resulted in prosecution based on a pack of lies,” said McCauley in opening arguments.

The jury of nine women and four men were going to hear “these are admitted liars,” said McCauley, referring to former Fall River police officers who would be called as prosecution witnesses. At least two of them testified with immunity in a grand jury in 2019 when Pessoa was indicted on multiple charges.

Pessoa, in the trial involving Lafrance, faces one count each for assault and battery with a dangerous weapon; civil rights violations, intimidating a witness; and a false report by a public official.

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Jury shown video evidence of Lafrance arrest

A few minutes into McCauley's opening argument, he played a surveillance video that captured the minutes that Pessoa, and then fellow officers Thomas Roberts, Andre Demelo and Sean Aguiar, arrived at an apartment building at 554 S. Main St. They were responding to a complaint that Lafrance had threatened to fight a neighbor.

At one point, Demelo and Aguiar handcuffs Lafrance, who does not appear to resist, while Roberts and Pessoa enter the apartment building for two minutes.

When they come out, Roberts, who was the lead officer on the call, is seen uncuffing Lafrance’s right hand after Pessoa steps off a stoop and appears to punch Lafrance in the face then falls to the ground. The four officers then struggle with Lafrance on the ground and fully handcuff him.

McCauley also showed photographs taken at Saint Anne’s Hospital emergency room by a family member, showing a split lip and facial swelling as well as bruising to his body.

In his opening statement, Camera played his own video for the jury, showing what appears to be the same surveillance camera a short time before police arrived. Lafrance can be seen kicking another man from the same apartment stoop.

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Roberts receives immunity and testifies against Pessoa

The first officer called to the stand on Monday was Roberts, who before the jury was seated had been granted immunity for his testimony for the prosecution by Judge Renee P. Dupuis.

Roberts had been given similar immunity for his grand jury testimony, as did Aguiar.

Roberts, who was eventually fired from the Fall River Police Department but said from the stand Monday that he still wanted to save his job, testified that he didn’t believe he had probable cause to arrest Lafrance.

Just before Pessoa allegedly punched Lafrance in the face, Roberts was releasing Lafrance from temporary custody.

“I told him I was going to kick him loose,” Roberts said, who testified he was a foot away from Lafrance when the man was being uncuffed.

“I know he was taken to the ground, but I don’t know how,” said Roberts.

McCauley said that “clearly” Roberts would have asked “what just happened.”

“I don’t think I asked,” said Roberts.

After Lafrance was allegedly assaulted, Roberts said Pessoa — who at that time had been a patrol officer for 19 years — told Roberts that he was taking over as lead officer in the case.

McCauley argued that by taking over the case, Pessoa wrote the narrative of events in February 2019.

Roberts says he didn’t 'perceive' Lafrance as a threat

Roberts testified that he never saw or heard a threat made by Lafrance. In a police report, and later in a use-of-force report, Pessoa alleged that Lafrance said as he was being uncuffed that he would punch the officers when freed.

The other three officers were also ordered to complete use-of-force forms, which all contain similar narratives that Lafrance was uncooperative and threatened the police officers.

Roberts testified that Pessoa was the intermediary between a superior officer who ordered the use-of-force reports. He said Pessoa approached him on a few occasions to alter the use-of-force report to indicate the actions taken against Lafrance was justified and to protect the officers from harm.

Roberts, who often changed his story of his perception of events on the stand, said there was one detail in Pessoa’s report he didn’t agree with: that he’d helped Pessoa take Lafrance to the ground with an “arm bar.”

Again, he admitted to McCauley that he never heard a threat although it was included in his use of force statement.

“Are you suggesting that you were somehow intimidated by his time in, you then allowed him to say things in his report that were false?” asked McCauley.

“No,” said Roberts.

“But you didn’t do anything about it,” said McCauley.

“No,” responded Roberts.

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Camera argued that there was ample probable cause for Roberts to charge Lafrance with several crimes, but Roberts chose not to and pointed blame on the superior officer for ordering him to inappropriately file a use-of-force report, “because you would have been fired for insubordination.”

Camera also argued that there was no collusion between the officers, just “confusion” as to why the other three officers had to file the reports.

Camera asked Roberts if he was intimidated by the prosecutor, “because it looks like you are.”

Roberts denied being intimidated, but Camera pressed him.

“You want to give him the answers he’s asking you because you want to save your job?” asked Camera.

“No, but I do want to save my job, yes,” said Roberts.

This article originally appeared on The Herald News: Fall River police excessive force trial begins; arrest video shown