Taraji P. Henson Apologizes to Police After Claiming Son Was Racially Profiled

Taraji P. Henson and her son Marcel (Getty Images)
Taraji P. Henson and her son Marcel (Getty Images)

Taraji P. Henson has apologized to the Glendale Police Department in California for alleging that they racially profiled her son, Marcel, during a traffic stop.

"I would like to publicly apologize to the officer and the Glendale Police Department. A mother's job is not easy and neither is a police officer's. Sometimes as humans we overreact without gathering all the facts," the Empire star, 44, wrote in an Instagram post on Friday. "As a mother in this case, I overreacted and for that I apologize. Thank you to that officer for being kind to my son."

She hashtagged the message #TurningANegativeIntoAPositive #LoveTarajiPHenson.

The actress initially brought the incident up last month when speaking with Uptown magazine, although her quotes just got media traction this week. "My child has been racially profiled," she claimed. "He was in Glendale, California, and did exactly everything the cops told him to do, including letting them illegally search his car. It was bogus because they didn't give him the ticket for what he was pulled over for." Due to this incident and another claim that her son had been stopped on the University of Southern California campus, Henson stated she was planning to send her son to Howard University. "I'm not paying $50K so I can't sleep at night wondering is this the night my son is getting racially profiled on campus."

However, the Los Angeles Times obtained footage from the Oct. 18 stop in Glendale that tells a very different story. The police officer was seen driving in traffic when Marcel, 20, drove through a lighted crosswalk, failing to yield to a pedestrian. As the publication notes, his race was not apparent in the video as he was driving.

In the video, the officer initiated a stop and approached Marcel's vehicle. After explaining what he had been pulled over for, the cop asked Marcel if he had ever been arrested and if there was anything illegal in his car. Marcel admitted to having marijuana, but said he couldn't find his medical marijuana prescription card. He later confessed to having smoked earlier that day, but passed a field sobriety test.

"I appreciate you being honest with me about the weed. I do appreciate that because I do smell weed," the cop said. "I do appreciate your cooperation, I really do."

Marcel also told the officer he had Ritalin in his car and that he had gotten the pill from a friend, although the pill was never found.

"You know you’re not supposed to have that, right?” the cop said. After a search of the car, the officer continued, "I am not going to give you a citation for running that yellow because that would actually put a moving violation on your driving license, and you are going to have to go to traffic school and all that stuff, so I am helping you by not giving you a violation on it. All I am going to do is take the weed from you."

The officer told Marcel that if he could show proof of his marijuana prescription he would probably just pay a fine in court.

“It felt like this was a little better than the other one,” he said. “I am giving this to you too because you smoked weed about two hours ago…  and a warning if you have Ritalin on you and you're not supposed to, don't do it. That’s a big violation and I wouldn’t want to do that to you.”

Prior to Henson's apology, the Glendale Police Department also released a statement.

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It is unfortunate that the Glendale Police Department has been placed in the position of having to publicly provide clarity and facts surrounding this situation, yet it is of paramount importance that the public continue to have the utmost confidence and assurances that the Glendale Police Department will continue to deliver the highest caliber of professional law enforcement services to the community we so proudly serve," Glendale Police Chief Robert Castro told The Insider With Yahoo. "This situation has resulted in unwarranted threats that will not be tolerated. The contact and actions with Marcell Johnson were legal, professional and empathetic.”