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Taraji P. Henson’s claim that her son was racially profiled while at the University of Southern California has resulted in a response from the school’s Department of Public Safety executive director.

In a statement issued after Henson’s claim generated headlines, John Thomas expressed how “deeply disturbed” he was regarding what happened with the “Empire” star’s son. Citing his personal experience being racially profiled, Thomas vowed to “look into the matter further” while working to “better understand who was involved and what took place.”

“I was deeply disturbed to read news reports about a prospective student who felt profiled on or near campus because of his race,” he said. “We encourage reporting of allegations of bias and I hope for the opportunity to have a conversation with the young man and his mother.”

“I would like to look into this matter further and better understand who was involved and what took place,” Thomas continued. “As someone who personally experienced racial profiling as a teenager, I have a stake in learning more about this incident and doing all I can to reach a just resolution.”

Thomas’ statement comes after Henson revealed details surrounding what she said was an incident of racial profiling on USC’s campus involving her son as well as another incident he was in that took place in Glendale, California.

“My child has been racially profiled. 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,” she shared in an interview with Uptown magazine.

“Then he’s at University of Southern California, the school that I was going to transfer him to, when police stopped him for having his hands in his pockets. So guess where he’s going? 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.”

Henson’s claims raised an eyebrow among those who had negative feedback pertaining to the interview. The entertainer fired back at her critics on Twitter, tweeting, “I really don’t care what ppl think about what I do with MY LIFE AND ALL INVOLVED WITH ME!!!!! Give it a rest.”

In his statement, Thomas mentioned how serious he was about getting to the bottom of incidents involving allegations against USC officers.

“Any allegation of bias or unequal treatment by university officers would trigger an investigation that I would supervise along with the university’s Office of Equity and Diversity,” he said.

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(Photo Source: AP)