Police in Arkansas were caught on camera entering a family home to arrest the father, after he pierced his son’s ears – with the clip of the arrest going viral.
Jeremy Sherland, 45, of Tontitown, is seen on the video scoffing and laughing as five police officers arrest him inside his home, while his wife and son protest.
Sherland is heard saying: ‘Body art without a license!’
His son, who films the encounter, yells at the police at one point: ‘I wanted my ears pierced!’
The situation began when the boy was seen in class with a piercing in his left ear.
He was overheard saying his father was drunk and put him in a chokehold, then ‘shoved the piercing in his ear,’ according to the police.
Jeremy Sherland, 45, of Tontitown, Arkansas, was arrested on Thursday and spent two nights in jail on charges of piercing his son’s ear
Sherland, in the bright yellow t-shirt and cap, is seen being forced out the door in handcuffs
A Springdale police school resource officer contacted the Tontitown Police Department on Thursday about conducting a welfare check.
Tontitown officers went to the family home, and Sherland admitted to piercing his son’s ear, but would not let them speak to his son or answer questions.
Police then returned with an arrest warrant, issued by the prosecuting attorney for Washington County, Matt Durrett.
Under Arkansas law, it is forbidden to ‘perform body art on a person under 16 years of age, regardless of parental consent.’
It is also illegal ‘to perform body art in any unlicensed facility.’
Violation of this law is a Class D felony.
Sherland is seen opening the door to police on Thursday. They spoke to him earlier in the day, but when he refused to allow them to question his son, they returned with an arrest warrant
Officers are seen tackling Sherland and putting him in handcuffs
Sherland laughs uproariously as he is told the charges against him, as his wife, in the Pirate t-shirt, speaks to officers
The video, which has gone viral, shows four officers arriving at the house and Sherland being arrested on Thursday.
Multiple officers hold him against the wall and place him in handcuffs, as a woman can be heard asking for an explanation.
The person recording, who identifies himself on TikTok as the son, asks: ‘Why are you doing this?’
When officers state the charge, Sherland laughs and says: ‘Body art without a license!’
He briefly resists before police succeed in shoving him out the door, and his wife and son follow.
‘Piercing is done here without a license,’ she yells after them, as he is marched down the street.
‘It takes three cops, four cops, coming into my house with no permission. No permission and busted in my front door.
‘This is the boy right here who got a pierced ear by his dad. These cops busted in my front door. Busted in the front door.’
The boy adds: ‘I wanted my ears pierced.’
Sherland is seen being marched out of the house, accompanied by four officers
Sherland was held for two nights in jail, and released on Saturday night after paying a $1,500 bond
Sherland spent two nights in Washington County jail and was released on Saturday on $1,500 bond, online jail records showed.
He also faces complaints of endangering the welfare of a minor, resisting arrest and obstruction of government operation.
‘Officers were met by Jeremy at the front door,’ police said.
‘Officers asked Jeremy to step outside. Jeremy refused standing in the doorway with his hands behind the door and wall posturing himself.
‘Officers told Jeremy he was under arrest and explained the probable cause for the arrest. Jeremy refused to comply.
‘Officers then took him into custody.’
