AUBURN – Roger Sirois had nothing but nice things to say about Auburn police – even though they arrested him years ago.

“I just thought you ought to hear from the other side,” Sirois, now a Lewiston resident, told three assessors from the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies Monday night in Auburn Hall.

“Not everyone on the other side of the law feels bad about these guys,” Sirois said. “That’s what I’m here for, and I have nothing but kudos to them for their discernment.”

Sirois said he was walking down an Auburn side street about 10 years ago carrying a telescope in a bag on his back. He admits he looked suspicious and the telescope probably looked just like a rifle.

To make things worse, he laughed, an Auburn police officer on bicycle patrol drew his weapon and ordered him to stop.

“The kids in that neighborhood play some crazy games, and I thought they were trying to play one on me,” he said. He laughed again, and was warned by the officer three times to put his hands against a wall before he finally obeyed.

“That officer, he didn’t panic and he could have,” Sirois said. “I have nothing but good things to say about that officer for keeping a cool head.”

Sirois was one of 13 Twin Cities residents to speak about the department to the three assessors, police officers from accredited departments across the county.

Assessors include Capt. Paul Sherman of Gainesville, Ga., Maj. Billy Lane Sr. from Hattiesberg, Miss., and Capt. John Garavaglia from Golden, Colo.

The three arrived Saturday night to review Auburn’s police practices and procedures. They’ll stay through Wednesday, filing a report on the department by November.

They will judge Auburn’s officers on 355 standards covering every aspect of police work. Those standards were designed to help prevent and control crime, make departments more effective and efficient and help them cooperate with other agencies.

Public comment is a big part of the report, and Garavaglia said the officers spoke with about 10 residents on the telephone Monday afternoon, just before the public hearing.

“It’s just about what we’d expect to hear,” Garavaglia said.

Most had praise for Auburn’s police, including City Councilor Dick Gleason, Mayor John Jenkins and Edward Little High School Principal Jim Miller. They were most pleased by the department’s outreach programs for youth.

Morris Silverman of 38 Locksley Road praised the department for working with business owners. Claire Barclay of 62 Winter Ave. liked the department’s graffiti cleanup program.

Danielle Freedman of 49 Western Promenade didn’t have any praise. She talked about being ticketed for having an expired automobile registration. Her registration was expired, but only by a few weeks. The officer misread the date and issued a ticket for a registration that had been expired for several months. He even threatened to tow her car, she said.

The ticket was eventually corrected, but Freedman said she does not have the same respect for Auburn police.

“Now when I see an officer approach, I look away,” she said. “I wonder how brutish and how mathematically challenged they will be.”