So I’m running through Cambridge with a group of friends after a great night out at a house party.
[not the scene you would expect a Law graduate to be in? Me neither, but please bear with me…]
So anyway, I’m running and though we’ve outrun the foot patrol, a distant echo of sirens closes in and we all look at one another, out of breath and way too far from home to run any further. My mind starts working overtime, I need to do something.
“What we running for anyway?” I manage to ask my three mates through painful pants.
“I’m not sure” replies one,
“Just don’t wanna get caught up in that mess” responds another,
“Have any of us ACTUALLY done anything wrong?” I ask,
“Na man, but we’re targets innit” answers the fourth member of the group.
“Targets of what?” I retort.
“Excuse me lads”, a plain clothes Police officer interjects my question and startles us into standing upright and putting on a defence of silence.
“Erm, it’s been reported that a gang of 10 black youths, aged between 16-19 have caused a public disturbance in town… Do you lot know anything about this?”
The wall of silence is maintained.
The officer continues, “You started running when one of our patrol officers approached you. Is there a reason for this?”
After a 30 second dual, I give up [not a regular trait I must add]
“Look officer, we’re all under 16 and too young to be at any club in town. And he isn’t black”, I say pointing to my spotty-faced, blond-haired mate, “Anyway there’s only four of us, you said you were looking for 10.”
The officer, possibly taken aback by my bold articulation [definitely a trait, I wish to claim] grins and questions us further,
“what d’you run off for then?”.
I now have the answer to my earlier question.
“To be honest, our older brothers go through stuff like this almost every weekend, we just figured with the stick you give them, we were gonna get some too.”
The officer scans the group and responds in a reassuring tone, “Son, I’ll give you this free, assumption is the lowest form of knowledge, but it is a great start for questioning. If you haven’t done anything wrong there’s no need to run.
“Cool” some of the group mumble. I return to silence and contemplate his advice [however flawed].
After this day I stopped running and started thinking.
I took my studies a little more seriously, enrolled on a law degree and now with over four years professional experience I have an insight into various aspects of the law.
I now work in the City of London as a Legal consultant, practicing what I enjoy and advising those who don’t understand what to do when they have a run in with the law [pun intended].
Kofi's Law 