Do you know who I am!?

Here is something that irks me, actually there are quite a few things that irk me, but this is right at the top of the list. True story.

What is it you ask? The dreaded “Do you know who I am!?”

This lovely gem of a question from someone I stop or am dealing with always makes me pause and take a deep breath, which is my personal action of choice to prevent popping off and having to explain to the Head Shed why they received a complaint that the normally friendly officer hurt the feelings of the poor picked upon self important turd citizen.

The fact of the matter is that as a police officer, if I am talking to you regarding my job it does not matter whether or not I know you.

What should be of greater importance to you Mr, Mrs or Ms S.I.T. (Self-Important Turd), is that 1) you have committed some type of traffic and/or criminal violation in my presence or 2) someone has reported you as having or you match the description of someone having committed some sort of social faux pas (i.e. a crime.)

It doesn't matter to me that you’re the second cousin of the mayor’s neighbor or that your aunt’s sister’s cousin’s best friend sat next to the Police Chief/Sheriff in preschool. Either way, my knowledge (or lack of knowledge) of your identity is a moot point. In fact, it is a sign of my being a professional (no laughing from those who know my secret identity) that I can, strike that, that I am legally bound to enforce the laws in an impartial manner without regard to who you know or who you (incorrectly think) you may  be.

That's one of the beauties of our system of justice. It is the same for everyone. The argument about how the courts work is reserved for another post or two.

So please remember, save your sense of self importance for others, if you break the law you get the same consideration as everyone else gets from me, period.

Of course it is fun to arrest/ticket those who are legends in their own minds.

Man I feel better. This blogging thing is great for the soul.