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Da poliziotto, non dormi la notte.

Da poliziotto, non dormi la notte.
As a policeman, you don't sleep at night.
From Lesson 176:Roles and life stages (da)·Italian

Questions & Answers about Da poliziotto, non dormi la notte.

Why is it da poliziotto instead of come poliziotto?
When indicating a role, profession, or life stage, Italian uses the preposition da. While come also means 'as' or 'like', using da specifically means 'in the role of' or 'acting as'.
Should there be an article, like da un poliziotto?
No, you must leave the article out when using da for a role or life stage. If you said da un poliziotto, it would completely change the meaning to 'from a policeman' or 'by a policeman'.
Who is dormi (you sleep) referring to here?
It refers to a general 'you' (meaning 'anyone'). Just like in English, Italian often uses the tu form to make general statements, meaning 'As a policeman, one doesn't sleep at night.'
Why does the sentence use la notte to mean 'at night'?
Using the definite article with a part of the day (like la notte or la mattina) is a common way to express a recurring time or habit. You could also use the preposition di and say di notte here, which means exactly the same thing.

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