Who knows

I say "I know" a lot.

It conveys empathy, it conveys understanding, it can even convey regret.

I think it's overused, though, and I have been trying to eradicate it. I was already trying when I had this conversation with some cops about a fellow officer who had hit a pedestrian while on patrol:

"Well, I was driving down that same street and it was really, really crowded," I said. "There was just so much activity going on. And then as I was driving this huge group of tourists just walked out right in front of me. I mean, I could have hit them. That gave me quite a scare. So I know how scary it must be to hit someone like that. I understand how you could probably panic."

The cop looked uncomfortable and said, "Yeah."

Then I thought about what I had just said and added, "Well actually, maybe I don't know. Maybe almost hitting someone and actually hitting someone are two totally different things. Maybe I have no idea what it's like. I think I say 'I know' too much."

The cop kind of chuckled, but no longer looked as uncomfortable.