A University of Southern California chief has vowed to carry out his own investigation into claims  the son of Empire star Taraji P. Henson was 'racially profiled' on campus. The school's Public Safety director, John Thomas, said he was 'disturbed' by reports the actress's son Marcel had been stopped by police on campus for having his hands in his pockets. It comes after Henson revealed she had now decided to send the 20-year-old to historically black Howard University. Scroll down for video . Taraji P. Henson says her son Marcel was racially profiled by police at University of Southern California. The mother and son are pictured above at a film screening in Hollywood last April . Empire star Henson, 44, says her son was stopped at University of California (file picture) for having his hands in his pockets . In an interview with Uptown magazine, she said her son was racially profiled elsewhere in California beforehand 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 said. '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.' After learning of the USC allegation, John Thomas revealed that he too had experienced racial profiling as a teenager . In a statement, he said: 'I was deeply disturbed to read news reports about a prospective student who felt profiled on or near campus because of his race. 'We encourage reporting of allegations of bias and I hope for the opportunity to have a conversation with the young man and his mother. Henson has revealed she has now decided to send her 20-year-old son Marcel to historically-black college . 'I would like to look into this matter further and better understand who was involved and what took place. '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.' He said he was not yet clear on which police departments were involved and that '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 continued: 'It is my expectation and that of the university that our department uphold the highest standards of constitutional policing, affording equal rights and respect to all persons.' Marcel is Henson's only child, and his father was her high school sweetheart. New hit: Henson currently stars on Fox drama Empire as Cookie Lyon, the recently-released-from-prison ex-wife of a music mogul (played by Terrence Howard) After revealing her son's ordeal, the 44-year-old said in the interview: '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. Also in the interview, Henson spoke about how happy she was to be one of now many black women leads on the small screen in shows like Scandal and How to Get Away with Murder. 'It feels good that there’s not just one black person. I don’t like that we get fixated on one or two at a time, or three at a time. If you look at Caucasian Hollywood, every year there’s a handful of new faces you’ve never seen before, then after that, they got five movies coming out and they’re introducing you to more talent. So I’m just so happy to see what’s happening on television right now. We have options and that’s how it should be,' Henson said. Proud mother: Henson and her son pictured on January 20, 2013 - attending a celebration for leading women in Washington, DC . Empire aired it's two-hour first-season finale last week, and has already been green-lighted for a second season. Henson plays Cookie Lyon on the show, the ex-wife of a rap music mogul (played by Terrence Howard) who was recently released from prison after taking the fall for his drug-dealing business. The show has had several guest starts in the music industry including Snoop Dog, Courtney Love, Rita Ora, and Jennifer Hudson.
Taraji P. Henson revealed her son was 'racially profiled' by police officers . Claims police stopped her son Marcel at University of Southern California . USC's Public Safety boss says he has experienced racial profiling himself . John Thomas has vowed to carry out his own investigation into the matter .