It is unlikely that Robert Ferriera will be driving through Auburn again any time soon.

On July 5 at about 5 p.m., Ferriera, a 45-year-old Auburn resident, found himself face down on the pavement across from the Courthouse at the intersection of Maple St. and Lincoln Way. No fewer than five Auburn police officers had their semi-automatic handguns trained on his back.

According to eyewitness reports, Ferriera was driving a battered, mid-1980s Chevrolet. Police attention was drawn to the vehicle because its windshield was broken; an officer ran the Idaho plates and the car came up stolen.

That’s when all hell broke loose and every available police vehicle in the city—at least five, both marked and unmarked—slid into intersection to provide the kind of back-up one would expect to be reserved for the apprehension of criminals such as John Dillinger or Charlie Manson. Ultimately, Ferriera was charged with taking a vehicle without the owner’s consent. Bail was set at $40,000 and he was soon released from custody.

Now Bobby Ferriera was allegedly a very bad boy, and although the responding officers technically followed procedures associated with a felony arrest, a reasonable person concerned about the potential for collateral damage could be persuaded that the police grossly over reacted in this instance. Police will contend that using such tactics helps ensure the safety of their officers, and I won’t argue with that. But with an alleged perpetrator fully subdued and shaking on the blacktop, would four drawn weapons have been sufficient to provide security? How about three? Maybe two?

This incident is illustrative of what I view as a disturbing law enforcement trend in Auburn: all too often police use a baseball bat to solve problems here when a badminton racquet would suffice.

Another chilling example was the police response to news that Hell’s Angel’s icon Sonny Barger was coming to Auburn to sign books at a motorcycle rally at the Gold Country Fairgrounds sponsored by a women’s biker organization the weekend of June 2nd. Rather than accept the fact that the appearance of Barger, 68 and sans larynx, was merely an innocuous opportunity to peddle his autobiography and Harley doodads, the police prepared for an all-out assault by chopper-mounted gangsters.

Calling up reinforcements from police jurisdictions all over the county in a mutual-aid response, Auburn was flooded with patrol cars starting Friday night. Though the anticipated surge of motorcyclists failed to materialize, the assembled force had a field day making vehicle stops in Old Town and Downtown.

Though it was clear that police preparedness far exceed any real threat, police officials lauded the fact that entire exercise was a grand training opportunity for the county’s police organizations. Again, that may be true, but the other side is rather than provide enhanced security for the community, such heavy-handed tactics can create a sense of uneasiness and even fear among law-abiding citizens.

You need look no further than the types of equipment being acquired by our police to appreciate the high-octane approach to law enforcement. In a community of just 7.4 square miles and 99% of roadways with speed limits under 35 mph, our police fleet is stocked with race-ready Dodge Charger patrol cars, capable of speeds of 150 mph. The unit every officer wants to drive is the stealthmobile, a Charger entirely blacked out and virtually invisible at night.

And now, three Taser stun guns are on order, devices producing 50,000 volts of DC power, designed to subdue unruly or dangerous suspects. While such weapons, termed “non-lethal,” have proven useful in many jurisdictions, more than 100 people have died since 1999 after being hit by stun guns during arrests, though in most cases other causes have been attributed for the actual cause of death (drug use, for example).

Does the Auburn Police Department have a glaring need for Tasers? Apparently not enough to seek public funding for such weaponry. Police Chief Valerie Harris instead pitched the local Masonic organization, and it gladly wrote a check for $3,600 to cover the cost.

If after reading this you have the impression that I am some sort of anti-gun liberal, you would be wrong. I own both handguns and shotguns and I know how to use them. And I firmly believe police organizations everywhere should be equipped with essential equipment and their officers should be trained how to use it.

But my fear is that in an era where our society is paralyzed by the fear of terrorism and outsiders, police authorities are being given carte blanche to acquire tools and authority far in excess of what is actually needed to protect our communities. Auburn is a classic example, and the net result is eventually, I fear an innocent person is going to get hurt.
I just hope it’s not you.

Gary Moffat is a journalist and co-owner of Carpe Vino in Old Town Auburn. Read his other work at www.onlyinauburn.com and www.carpevinoauburn.com.