George Eads stared a cop right in the face on the set of "CSI" last month ... desperately trying to figure out why the guy looked so damn familiar ... then it hit him -- he BUSTED him two years ago!!!
Sources tell TMZ ... George was pulled over for speeding in L.A. roughly two years ago ... going faster than 80 mph. Eads got himself a ticket ... but he never forgot the face of the cop who took him down.
Fast forward to October -- when that same cop was on the set in uniform -- handling security for the show. We're told the two men approached each other ... and realized they had history.
But this story has a happy ending -- the guys both laughed it off ... but George made sure to check his speed on the way home that day.