A UNIVERSITY has reiterated its stance on equality and diversity and vowed to do better after a black student was mistaken for a wanted man and confronted by armed police officers.
Firearms officers were called to the University of Essex, Colchester, at about 7.30pm, last Thursday, after receiving reports from campus security guards.
They believed a man matching the description of a person circulated by police for firearms offences was on site.
After arriving at the scene armed officers tracked down the “suspect” before accepting he was not the man they were looking for.
The man turned out to be an international student who was simply studying in the university's on-campus library.
He has since accused the police and the university's security guards of racial profiling and says he did not match the description given out by police.
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Bryn Morris, registrar for the University of Essex, has now responded to the allegations.
He said: “It is totally unacceptable that one of our students experienced this incident.
"In response we have commissioned a review to discover what happened and how it occurred.
"We have also taken every action we can to try and support the people involved.
“Our commitment to equality and diversity is central to what we stand for and who we are.
"We are proud that we are the third most culturally diverse University in the UK.
"Our inclusive and diverse community are at the heart of what makes us Essex and a safe home for our students.
"We will do everything we can to ensure that this never happens again on one of our campuses.”
The student, who has no family in the UK, has since threatened to take legal action over how the situation was handled.
He said: “Their description of the suspected individual was black, six-feet tall, athletic build, with dreadlocked hair.
“My hair is far from dreadlocks - and I’m not that tall.
“Being threatened with guns on the campus where my safety is supposed to be provided for is troubling and concerning.
“How are black students supposed to be safe from racial discrimination and fear of potential death when their biggest threat are those that are supposed to protect them?”
A spokesman for Essex Police added: “We appreciate that being approached by police can be an unnerving experience.
“We would like to thank everyone at the scene for answering our questions so we could conclude our enquiries.”
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