SANTA ANA – A judge ordered the Fullerton Police Department on Friday to provide Orange County prosecutors with confidential files detailing the internal investigation into two former officers involved in a July 5, 2011, altercation that led to the death of homeless man Kelly Thomas.

Prosecutors last week sought the administrative files of ex-Officer Manuel Ramos and ex-Cpl. Jay Cicinelli after a Fullerton police training officer testified that he saw little in a controversial surveillance video of the altercation with Thomas that violated department training and policy.

Deputy District Attorney Keith Bogardus contended in a pretrial motion that Fullerton police authorities determined Ramos and Cicinelli – now on trial on homicide charges – did violate department policy during the encounter with Thomas and were disciplined for it, and that the confidential records will show that.

Friday’s ruling was issued without jurors present; the trial is in recess and is scheduled to restart Jan. 6.

Ramos and Cicinelli were separated from their employment with the Fullerton Police Department in July 2012 – a year after the incident with Thomas at the Fullerton Transportation Center. Officials at the time said they were precluded by confidentiality laws from revealing if they were fired or had resigned.

On Friday, Gregory Palmer, an attorney for the city of Fullerton, acknowledged during the hearing that the two were terminated. Palmer opposed the release of department reports, saying that doing so would violate confidentiality laws protecting police officers.

Palmer told Superior Court Judge William Froeberg that he will appeal the decision ordering the release of the reports. The city has until Jan. 3 to turn over the documents unless the appeal is successful.

Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas is seeking to provide rebuttal evidence when the trial resumes to counter the testimony last week from Fullerton police Cpl. Stephen Rubio, who said he provided training in use-of-force and tactical techniques to both Ramos and Cicinelli.

Rubio, who was called to the witness stand by defense attorneys, told jurors that he did not see anything in the surveillance video that showed Ramos and Cicinelli violating policy in the encounter with Thomas, other than a “maybe a slight violation” for use of profanity.

Under Froeberg’s order, Rackauckas and his team will be able to review the results of the Police Department investigation that led to the terminations and determine if he can introduce rebuttal evidence to the jury.

Defense attorneys will still be able to object to the reports’ use as evidence on relevancy grounds. Froeberg will decide those issues next week.

Ramos, 39, is charged with second-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter in Thomas’ death. He is the first uniformed officer in Orange County history to be charged with murder for an on-duty incident. Cicinelli, 42, is charged with involuntary manslaughter and assault under color of authority.

Thomas, 37, died July 10, 2011, five days he was tackled to the ground, jolted with a Taser, struck with batons and one of the Tasers and handcuffed and hobbled after a routine questioning became violent.

Prosecutors contend that Ramos ignited the violence by snapping on plastic gloves and threatening to beat Thomas up; defense attorneys claim that Thomas escalated the event by declining to identify himself and refusing to cooperate with lawful commands.

The incident was captured by a police surveillance camera mounted on a pole at the Fullerton Transportation Center. The 33-minute video has become the focal point in the closely watched trial.

Contact the writer: lwelborn@ocregister.com