“I’m a Colonel, do I look like a drunk?”: An extraordinary incident involving a military unit commander

An extraordinary incident has occurred in the Armavir region. Photojournalist Gagik Shamshyan reports that the Traffic Police stopped a vehicle, and the driver raised suspicions among the police. They subjected the driver to a sobriety test, which revealed that he was driving under the influence of alcohol.

The vehicle was moved to a designated holding area, and upon learning this, a representative of a power structure arrived at the Vagharshapat police station, where he not only displayed disrespectful behavior towards the public but also hurled insults at police officers. He declared in the yard of the station that 'the car that was taken to the “ploshchadka” should be released immediately, and the drunk driving report against the driver should be canceled,' claiming that the driver was his friend and that they had drunk together.

The photojournalist also reports that police noticed he was also in a vehicle and requested his driver's license, asking him to undergo a sobriety test as well. This request did not sit well with the uninvited guest, who replied, 'I’m a Colonel, do I look like a drunk?' and refused to comply with the traffic police's legal demand. According to Shamshyan, officers from the Vagharshapat NSS office witnessed all of this. The individual presenting himself as a colonel serves as a commander in one of the military units of the Ministry of Defense.