"The Sag Harbor Nazi", People Are Accusing Justin Timberlake's PR Team of Orchestrating a Hit Piece on The 24-Year Old Cop Who Arrested Him for DWI

Sag Harbor Police Department. Shutterstock Images.

Daily Mail - The Gen Z cop who didn't recognize Justin Timberlake when he pulled him over for allegedly drunk driving in Sag Harbor is a rookie officer who's already made a name for himself in the ritzy Hamptons town despite joining the force just three months ago.   

Officer Michael Arkinson, who turns 24 this month, pulled Timberlake over on Monday night after allegedly watching him blow a stop sign and swerve in the right lane. 

One might think when an international superstar catches his first ever drunk driving arrest at the age of 43, a charge that will at most result in nothing more than a misdemeanor & fine that he could pay with the change in his cup holder, and a court date he won't even have to be present for, that he would just bite the bullet, throw some money at the problem, and get on with gallivanting across Europe on his 'Forget Tomorrow World Tour' (Tickets on sale now at Gametime). 

Drunk driving is bad. You fucked up Justin. You shouldn't have done that. But that's all there is to it. In the grand scheme of things, nobody gives a shit. Your reputation isn't going to be affected beyond some stray drunk driving memes and some light heckling as you're leaving whatever Michelin star restaurant in Berlin you'll be dining at next month. Now if you get pulled over again this week with a couple hookers in your backseat and a satchel full of ketamine, then we might have a story on our hands. But the way it is now, it really seems like you and everyone involved would be best served to simply move on with your lives.

Or on the other hand, you could dig deeper into the story and have a scathing hit piece written about a 24-year old cop who pulled you over and liken him to a Nazi. 

But in the three short months he's been on the force, he's already become known for his pull-over attempts, earning himself a nickname of 'the Sag Harbor Nazi' and a 'little red-headed dipst' among the Hamptons' wealthy residents.  

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 dkhead move. I felt like he pulled me over just for the sake of doing it.' 

I'm not exactly sure how these things work in celebrity circles. When I first saw this story I didn't immediately think to myself, "Justin Timberlake's PR team must have something to do with this." But the general consensus online seems to be that this is some sort of PR move from Timberlake's people.

Maybe that makes me naive for not immediately assuming that's what's happening. It just seems like a really bad idea to me. If Timberlake's team actually did have a hand in this story being published, how do they think going after a young cop who stopped a drunk driver is going to be good for his image? That's extremely shortsighted. The risk way outweighs the reward on that one. Best case scenario the charges are dropped and everyone thinks your an asshole for dragging a young cop who was doing his job by the book. Wouldn't paying the fine and dealing with the very minor consequences be much better for him in long run? Responding to a DWI arrest that should really not affect his life in the slightest with a hit piece labeling a 24-year old cop the "Sag Harbor Nazi" seems very excessive. 

But maybe that's just how things are done. Timberlake hired a "local powerhouse attorney" who said he looks forward to "vigorously defending" him. I guess this is the playbook. Deny the breathalyzer so there's no hard evidence of him being drunk (besides whatever's on the body cam footage), interview the entire town until you find a couple people who are still salty about a recent speeding ticket, and get a juicy Nazi quote (among other quotes) to paint the cop in a bad light. 

'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,' he said.

He added: 'I thought he would give me a break, and I was driving less than 25mph trying to get to the Y in East Hampton.'

Instead Arkinson hit him with a $145 ticket that he hasn't paid.

'I only had less than 30 minutes to swim. It really interrupted my workout, and lunch plans' he said. 

'I think Justin Timberlake was a victim of over-aggressive Sag Harbor police.' 

Saying he was a victim of over-aggressive policing when driving drunk is a ridiculous quote. It also doesn't help that the people who are being quoted are other wealthy people living in the Hamptons. A bunch of rich people piling on a young police officer making $70,000 per year isn't necessarily going to sit well with most regular folk.

On top of that, somebody managed to find a couple bartenders who were working that day, and they swear to god Timberlake only had a single martini.

Page Six - The American Hotel employee confirmed to People on Saturday, June 22, that the “Can’t Stop the Feeling” crooner had “one martini.”

“If he was drinking more, it wasn’t here,” a second employee told the outlet.

But for what it's worth, there are other people who claimed Timberlake was "wasted and drinking other people's drinks", and on top of that, someone else at the bar allegedly called the cops to tip them off that a drunk pop star was about to get behind the wheel of a car.

NY Post - Someone at the swanky Hamptons hotel where Justin Timberlake was downing cocktails before his DWI arrest called cops because they were concerned he would get behind the wheel, a local eatery owner says.

“[They] said Justin was having a lot of drinks, and they told the cop to watch him if he is going to drive,” said the well-connected Southampton restaurateur, who did not want to be identified, to The Post on Sunday.

The local businessman did not specify whether the caller was an employee or patron of Sag Harbor’s American Hotel, including whether they were from Timberlake’s own party, in order to shield their anonymity.

Can't blame the bartenders though for having Justin Timberlake's back. Never hurts to have a man worth $250 million dollars owe you one. Regardless, Justin Timberlake appears to be set to deny deny deny and drag this whole thing out for as long as possible until hopefully it gets thrown out because in the end it's just not worth the city's time anymore. Not sure if that's going to end up working out for him, but that seems to be the route he's chosen.

This all seems very fucking stupid, and not worth anybody's time. I'm still not convinced these stories are even coming from Timberlake's people. I think it's very likely some random writer simply interviewed some rich Hampton's people because they had heard rumors about this cop, and knew if they got some good quotes that they'd get some clicks. But again, maybe I'm dumb for thinking that. Maybe Just Timberlake is just an asshole who's pissed about the incident and wants to use the resources he has to "put this cop in his place". How dare he not recognize Justin Timberlake. This will teach him to pay more attention to aging pop-stars.