Justin Timberlake’s recent arrest for a DWI was pretty shocking to say the least. What was more shocking to some is that the officer that stopped him claims to not know who he was. It would seem the rookie arresting officer is not unfamiliar with controversy. The New York Post reports that he seems to be a major annoyance for the wealthy residents of New York’s Sag Harbor simply because he’s doing his job.
Officer Michael Arkinson has been only been on the force for three months and he’s already earned the nicknames of “The Sag Harbor Nazi” and, perhaps more affectionately, “little red-headed dipshit,” all because he enforces traffic laws. One man who gave his named as Spencer, detailed his run in with Arkinson one night to the Daily Mail:
Spencer, a writer from Shelter Island, is one driver who claims he’s had an unpleasant encounter with Arkinson. He was recently trying to find a parking spot before meeting a friend for dinner in Sag Harbor when he performed a quick U-turn.
Arkinson pounced when he spotted him make the turn.
‘I was surprised he pulled me over,’ he said.
‘It was off season, and no one was around. It was a d**khead move. I felt like he pulled me over just for the sake of doing it.’
Appalling behavior by Arkinson. I mean, Spencer was just looking for a parking spot so he could make his dinner date. A little illegal u-turn never hurt anyone. Spencer says he had another encounter with Officer Arkinson after he was pulled over for using his cell while driving. ‘I explained to him that I was on speaker and I was just holding my phone, but he told me I should have been using a Bluetooth,’ Spencer told the Daily Mail. Spencer then continues with a shocking example of elitism logic. “I thought he would give me a break, and I was driving less than 25 mph trying to get to the Y in East Hampton.” It should have been OK since he was going slower than the speed limit right? Right?
Spencer says he was hit with a $125 ticket and this ruined his day because he interrupted his swimming and lunch plans. Spencer sides defensively with Timberlake saying he thinks he was “a victim of over-aggressive Sag Harbor police.”
Another resident of Sag Harbor wasn’t as critical of Arkinson. They told Daily Mail they remembered when he was a traffic control officer. They never had an encounter with him, but people knew where police would park and wait in the town to catch someone. They side with Arkinson not recognizing Timberlake. “If that is not your taste in music, how would you know,” they said.
Honestly, it doesn’t sound like this Arkinson is a bad guy. It just sounds like Sag Harbor is full of a bunch of rich, entitled people who are shocked and appalled that their wealth and status won’t phase at least one cop enough to look the other way.