A Furman University alumnus and mentor said he was racially profiled in a Sept. 10 incident with a university police officer that led to him being banned from campus.

The university is reviewing the incident and using it as an opportunity to discuss issues centering on diversity and inclusion on campus, Furman University President Elizabeth Davis said in a statement.

University police responded to a noise complaint on Sept. 10. The investigation led to a trespass notice against Andrej Suttles. Suttles, who is black, is a 2016 Furman graduate with a degree in computer science, and a former football player at the school. The officer who issued the trespass notice also is black.

As a result of the being issued the trespass notice, Suttles is prohibited from entering any property owned by Furman. If he is found on Furman property, he can be arrested for a misdemeanor, which could mean either a fine of up to $200 or up to 30 days in jail, according to the notice.

The trespass notice stated that it was “effective immediately” and “indefinite.”

Furman spokesman Clinton Colmenares said the trespass notice is only indefinite until it is appealed and the door to appeal is still open. Appealing the notice would involve calling the police chief. Written permission from the chief is required to return to the property, the notice said.

The statement from university President Elizabeth Davis said the trespass notice is under review.

Suttles, 25, said he regularly visits the campus. He said he was on campus at about 8 a.m. to deliver homework to a student he tutors.

At about the same time, Furman police said they received phone calls from residents of the student housing complex North Village about a loud motorcycle revving its engine repeatedly.

Suttles said he doesn’t know if his motorcycle was the source of residents’ complaint. Colmenares said, based on the description of the motorcycle, the officer was certain it was same one North Village residents had complained about.

Suttles said as he was driving his motorcycle on campus, when another driver made an obscene gesture at him. Both he and the driver turned into the chapel parking lot.

The police officer saw a motorcyclist driving toward the main part of campus, as he was responding to the noise complaint. He told university leaders that he saw the motorcyclist driving “dangerously toward and around a car driven by a student."

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The officer stopped next to the motorcycle to make sure the situation did not escalate, Colmenares said.

Suttles said he was sitting on his motorcycle setting his GPS for a trip to Caesar’s Head when a Furman officer blocked him in.

The officer asked Suttles why he was on campus, Suttles said he mentors kids on campus and that he was there to return homework. Suttles said that after his license was checked and came back clear, the officer continued to “interrogate” him.

“It made me feel uncomfortable and uneasy,” he said. “At the end of the day, he’s an officer with a weapon and for him to deem me as a threat, who knows what could have happened next.”

Suttles said the officer asked for his license a second time, went back to his vehicle and returned with the trespass notice.

The officer told Suttles he could appeal it before escorting him off the campus, Suttles said.

The incident was captured by the officer’s body camera. Colmenares said, as a policy, Furman does not release police incident reports or body camera footage.

Furman is not subject to the Freedom of Information Act because it is a private school and is not supported by public funds.

Colmenares said the student driver has not been identified and has not reached out to the university.

Suttles said he was given the trespass notice because “an altercation could have occurred.”

That means, “I would have to be a threat,” Suttles said. “I felt like I was being racially profiled as far as being dressed in all black, being on a black motorcycle, and..." He then pointed to his skin, a referring to his race.

Suttles, CEO of SuttleSolution Media, shared his account of what happened on Facebook and it captured 350 impressions, 176 comments and 92 shares.

An update posted September 12 had 230 reactions, 29 comments and 13 shares. Most, if not all, are in support of Suttles. Some called for a public apology from the university.

The social media posts and talk about the incident on campus prompted the email statement from President Davis, Colmenares said.

Davis said, in the statement, that the university is using the incident as an opportunity to "advance our understanding of and growth around diversity and inclusion on our campus."

Furman issues about two dozen trespass notices a year, Colmenares said.

Anyone who is issued a trespass notice may call the police chief to request an appeal, he said. The police chief reviews each case and consults with others involved to inform his decisions regarding appeals, Colmenares said.

To appeal it would be admitting to something “I didn’t do,” Suttles said.

“I wasn’t trespassing,” he said. “I deserve to be there. I earned it. I graduated. I’ve given a lot back to the university.”