Being right…
By Taj Ashaheed August, 2006 “Know your rights”. I can’t count the times I’ve heard this mantra time and time again, in context to either my race or my religion. On a hot night two weeks ago, an encounter I had with members of the Denver Police Department brought that lesson to life. I was returning to work late on a Thursday (by “late”, I mean just after 2 am). Since I happen to work next door to one of the most popular nightclubs in Downtown, I parked behind my building and was talking to the club owner as I made my way to the entrance of my building. Out of nowhere, it seemed, several police officers flew around a corner and surrounded me, requesting a pat-search. Now, it’s night and I am stuck near a pitch dark alley with a bunch of cops, so I had no problem complying. I was then told I “fit the description” of a recent gunfire report, wherein the suspect car matched the color and make of my wife’s Land Rover which I had just parked. After finding nothing on me, the lead officer,