A Dad Was Arrested For Piercing His Teenage Son’s Ear At Home
The father busted out in laughter after hearing the charge.
A confrontation between a dad and Arkansas police has gone viral after officers were caught on camera entering into a family home to arrest the father.
The crime in question? Piercing his teenage son’s ear.
Jeremy Sherland, 45, of Tontitown, Arkansas, cackled in disbelief as five police officers took him away in handcuffs as his wife called for his release. Sherland’s son filmed the incident that he then posted to TikTok with the caption, “I pierced my ear a year ago and he got arrested because of it.”
When Sherland’s wife questioned police on why her husband was being arrested, you can hear one of the officers say the arrest is for an “unlawful body piercing.”
Sherland laughed out loud while being taken away in handcuffs while yelling, “Body art without a license?!”
His son chimes in from behind the camera and says, “I wanted my ears pierced!”
According to Tontitown Police, the situation began when Sherland’s son was seen in class with a piercing in his left ear. He was allegedly overheard saying his father was drunk, put him in a chokehold, then “shoved the piercing in his ear.”
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.
The school’s resource officer then contacted the Tontitown Police Department about conducting a welfare check. When officers went to the family home, 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 county. The rest played out in the now-viral TikTok video.
Sherland was also charged with endangering the welfare of a minor, refusing to submit to arrest, and obstructing governmental operations. Records indicate he spent two nights in the Washington County jail before being released on a $1,500 bond.
According to 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 the law is a Class D felony in the state. Piercing laws are obviously going to vary state-by-state. For example, what is a Class D felony in Arkansas is a Class A misdemeanor in Illinois.
It is advised by law professionals to look up your state’s particular piercing laws before trying to pierce your child’s body at home.
Some parents opt to have a professional piercer handle any piercings their child might want, however, that doesn’t stop the criticism. Teen Mom alum Farrah Abraham was blasted by the internet after she allowed her daughter, 14-year-old Sophia Abraham, to get six facial piercings at one time.
Abraham had no time for the negativity, noting that she supports her daughter’s decisions about who she wants to become.
“I won’t be shaming my daughter, I LOVE and support Sophia 100 percent on who and what she wants to become,” Abraham, 31, told In Touch. “The mom shamers should recognize what some kids will grow out of and what they [will not]. That’s part of a teen journey as I don’t have my belly button piercing anymore.”
“I have all the compassion for her as I wish I had as a teen,” she said.
