Taraji P. Henson -- I Apologize to the Cop ... My Son Wasn't Profiled

Taraji P. Henson just gave a public mea culpa, profusely apologizing to a police officer she accused of racism.

The "Empire" actress had accused a Glendale cop of profiling her son during a traffic stop, but the Glendale PD blew her claim out of the water by releasing dash cam video of the stop, and the cop could not have been nicer. In fact, he let Taraji's son, Marcel Johnson, skate on a traffic violation and possession of Ritalin without a prescription.

Taraji now says, "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."

She adds, "Sometimes as humans WE overreact without gathering all of the facts. As a mother in this case I overreacted and for that I apologize."

Our translation ... Marcel probably wasn't exactly straight with his mom on what went down.

Taraji ends by saying, "Thank you to that officer for being kind to my son."

Smart move.