A University of South Alabama police officer has been suspended after citing a student last week for carrying an empty gun holster on campus.

D.J. Parten, a junior finance student and president of the USA chapter of Students for Concealed Carry, was approached by the officer Wednesday while participating in a weeklong protest in which students across the country wore empty holsters on campus, AL.com reported.

In a statement released by the university, the citation given to Mr. Parten should not have been issued and has been rescinded.

“Upon further investigation, it has been determined that the citation should not have been issued and it has been rescinded,” South Alabama spokesman Bob Lowry stated. “University Police are conducting an internal investigation of the matter.”

School officials said Officer David Turppa was suspended for five days without pay for the incident, AL.com reported. He and another officer involved apologized to Mr. Parten, Mr. Lowry said.

Mr. Parten said he was contacted by the chief of campus police, who invited him to come to the station for a personal apology, Campus Reform reported.

“I really appreciated the chief’s apology,” Mr. Parten said. “I hope that this opens a discussion on how we can better improve relations between the police and the student body.”

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