The Sag Harbor police officer who gained viral fame after arresting Justin Timberlake for DWI last summer has now been honored as “Officer of the Year.”
Michael Arkinson, a rookie with the Sag Harbor Police Department, received the award from Chief Rob Drake in a recent ceremony, where he was praised for making “an immediate impact within the department and the community.”
The chief also highlighted Arkinson’s impressive record, noting that he led the department in arrests and summonses—one of which was Timberlake’s highly publicized DWI arrest last June.
Arkinson became a meme after reports surfaced that he didn’t recognize the pop star when he pulled him over, leading to the viral joke, “This is going to ruin the tour.”
Timberlake later took a traffic ticket plea deal in September, closing the case. Whether Arkinson’s latest recognition will have any impact on the world tour remains to be seen.