2 laid-off policemen charged in beating

Jason X. Silveira, 28, and Antonio M. Pereira, 27, were two of 31 local officers laid off in February after New Bedford suffered a $2.8 million midyear cut in state aid.

All of the officers told the city they hoped to be rehired as older officers retire or as money becomes available through new taxes or federal grants. Five have been brought back so far.

But Silveira and Pereira face arraignment, accused of assaulting a man who was involved with Pereira's former girlfriend, according to police reports filed in New Bedford District Court.

Those documents say that, early on March 28, the former officers were eating hot dogs in Pereira's sport utility vehicle after a night out when they spotted Paulo Vieira, 26, filling up at a gas station nearby on Acushnet Avenue.

According to Vieira and several witnesses, Silveira approached and struck Vieira, then momentarily backed away before Silveira and others, including Pereira, struck again with repeated blows. Vieira was bleeding from his head and right ear and had abrasions on his hands and forearms when police arrived after the fight.

Pereira and Silveira gave a different account, telling police that Vieira verbally accosted them before Silveira left the SUV and engaged in a brief fight. As Silveira returned to the car, they said, Vieira pulled a knife and tried to attack Silveira from behind before being restrained.

A clerk magistrate reviewed the case and found probable cause to charge Silveira and Pereira with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, a shod foot, and to charge Silveira with assault and battery. They will be arraigned June 5.

The two former officers do not have listed numbers and could not be reached yesterday. The Standard-Times of New Bedford reported the case yesterday.

Vieira said he has suffered headaches and blurred vision and has been treated several times at a local hospital. He said he returned to work as a shipping-and-receiving superintendent to support himself and an aunt, despite the persistent health problems and fears of another run-in with the former officers.

"I see them on the streets every single day," Vieira said in a phone interview yesterday.

A conviction would disqualify the two men from receiving a gun permit under state law, meaning they could not be rehired. But the allegations alone could pose a problem in the background check required by the Police Department, said Lieutenant Jeffrey P. Silva, a spokesman.