Taraji P. Henson Issues Apology After Accusing Police of Racially Profiling Son

as a person walks across. According to the LA Times,

In the video, the officer approaches Henson’s son’s Honda and tells him he was stopped for driving through a lighted crosswalk while someone was walking in it. The youth tells the officer he was headed to a friend’s home in Calabasas.

He hands the officer his insurance information and says he has never been arrested. He says his name is Marcell Johnson, and his mother is Taraji P. Henson. Johnson is his father’s last name.

Then the officer asked whether he had anything illegal in his car, and the young man responded that he had marijuana in his backpack, according to the video. He told the officer he has a state-issued medical marijuana license but couldn’t find it.

“I appreciate you being honest with me about the weed. I do appreciate that because I do smell weed,” the officer said.

During the lengthy traffic stop shown on the video, Johnson was searched and told the officer he had Ritalin, a prescription drug used to treat hyperactivity, in his car. He admitted he didn’t have a prescription and that he had gotten the pill from a friend.

“You know you’re not supposed to have that, right?” the officer told him.

Johnson then consented and allowed the officer to search his car. At that point, the officer was joined by two other officers and a police cadet.

For most of the traffic stop, officers searched Johnson’s car for the Ritalin pill, which they never found because he said he may have left it at his friend’s house. They also found hash oil, marijuana and a grinder. The officer found a knife, which they determined was legal.

On the video, he told one of the officers he had smoked marijuana two hours before driving, so a sobriety test was performed. He passed the test.

After checking his car, the officer decided not to cite him for the original infraction because it would have a lasting effect on his driving record. Instead, he cited the young man for possessing marijuana.

“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,” he said.

The officer told Johnson he could go to court, show proof he has a prescription and probably just pay a fine.

“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.”

Glendale Police Chief Robert Castro said the racial profile allegations resulted in threats against the department.

“The contact and actions with Marcell Johnson were legal, professional and empathetic,” he said.

Long story short, Taraji’s son was not ticketed. Prior to the incident, he had planned to attend USC, but Taraji opted to send him to Howard (where she attended). Prior to the investigation about the incident, she told Uptown she,

Will not be paying $50K so I can’t sleep at night wondering, ‘Is this the night my son is getting racially profiled on campus?’

No word on whether or not Taraji’s son will re-consider USC or continue plans to attend Howard.

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