Jeremy Sherland is arrested by Arkansas police for piercing his son’s ear. (Screenshot via Zethen Sherland/TikTok)
Arkansas police arrested a man for piercing his son’s ear last week. Now he faces felony charges.
The incident was captured on a video that went viral on TikTok.
In the clip, four members of the Tontitown Police Department can be seen forcing their way into a house and forcing 45-year-old Jeremy Sherland against the wall as the man’s wife and son react in shock.
The man stands outside his door, holding his door in one hand and the door frame in the other as an officer pushes him, grabs his right bicep and pushes his way inside, as the show pictures. The owner seems to ask why he should submit to the orders of the officers and one of them says to him: “Because I said.”
Almost instantly, the officers have numbers, enter the house, and the man is pressed against the wall of the foyer.
As Sherland is handcuffed, his wife demands to know the charges against her husband. An officer responds and Sherland himself throws his head back with a combination of laughter and disdain.
@iamnugget770 #freemyboy #fyp #copabuse #viral ♬ original sound – Zethen Sherland198
“Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha,” he shouts – eleven times in total – faking the sound of laughter sarcastically as an officer makes reference ear piercing. “Body art without a license!”
Officers then pushed the man outside and led him to a distant law enforcement vehicle.
“Body art without a license!” Sherland screams again as he is taken away.
As the video continues, the man can be heard again recording his disbelief at the accusations, continuing to fake laughter.
“Piercing his son’s ear without a permit,” the man’s wife can be heard shouting offscreen. “It takes three cops, four cops, to enter my house without permission. No permission and busted outside my front door. That’s the boy, right there, he got his ear pierced by his father. These cops broke into my door. Busted in the front door.
Sherland’s son chimes in during filming: “I wanted to get my ears pierced.”
The incident happened on Thursday, April 20. Sherland was released on $1,500 bail Saturday night. His arraignment is scheduled for May 22, according to reports.
According to a news release from the Tontitown Police Department, officers said they were contacted by a Springdale Police Academy resource officer about the boy’s piercing.
“While sitting in class talking with other students and a teacher present, the young man said his father was drunk and put him in a choke hold and stuck his piercing in by ear,” the TPD said.
Sherland’s son says that’s not true.
“No, I asked for it and so we just had ice cream and a potato and we did it that way,” Zethen Sherland told Arkansas NBC affiliate KNWA. “I got my ears pierced almost a year ago and wanted it and thought it would be cool.”
According to the TPD, the arrest came the second time officers had been at Sherland’s home that day.
“The officers explained the reason for their gifts [sic] and questioned Jeremy about the incident,” the press release read. “Jeremy admitted to piercing his son’s ear. Officers attempted to investigate the alleged crime further, but Jeremy refused to allow officers to speak with his son and refused to answer questions.
After that, according to police, they went to Washington County District Attorney Matt Durrett’s office and obtained a warrant.
Under the Natural State Act cited by law enforcement, it is illegal to perform body art on a minor without parental consent. The law also does not expressly apply to minors “during earlobe piercing”. The law, however, makes it “unlawful to practice body art in an unauthorized facility.”
Law&Crime contacted the prosecutor’s office to comment on this story, but no response was immediately received.
“Officers told Jeremy he was under arrest and explained probable cause for the arrest,” the TPD press release read. “Jeremy refused to comply. Officers then took him into custody. »
In addition to the body piercing offence, Sherland was charged with one count each of endangering the welfare of a minor, refusing to submit to arrest and obstructing government operations. .
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