Emily Brown
Family members were left shouting at police in Arkansas after they pushed their way into their home and arrested a dad for piercing his son's ear.
The teenage son filmed the moment officers from Tontitown Police Department entered their home and arrested Jeremy Sherland, 45, on Thursday (20 April).
The son could be heard questioning why police were restraining his dad as they put him in handcuffs and led him out of the door, with a caption on the video claiming: "I pierced my ear a year ago and he got arrested because of it."
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However, Tontitown Police Department offered a different version of events in a statement shared on Facebook yesterday (23 April), which said the department was made aware of the family after being contacted by a Springdale Police School Resource Officer.
The resource officer claimed the son went to school with a piercing in his left ear and told classmates his dad had 'put him in a chokehold and shoved the piercing in his ear' while drunk.
The officer reported their welfare concern to the police department, who went to the family's home and asked Sherland about the incident.
"Jeremy admitted to piercing his son's ear," the police statement says.
When police attempted to investigate further, the dad allegedly 'refused to allow officers to speak with his son'.
Arkansas law states: "A person shall not perform body art on a person under sixteen years of age, regardless of parental consent. It is unlawful to perform body art in any unlicensed facility."
Police later returned to the scene, which is when the son started filming.
The statement claimed Sherland met officers at the door and asked him to step outside, but he refused.
"Officers told Jeremy he was under arrest and explained the probable cause for the arrest," the statement said. "Jeremy refused to comply. Officers then took him into custody."
The TikTok video, which has since gone viral, shows the dad laughing as the officers explained the reason he was being arrested.
“I wanted my ears pierced,” the son shouted in the clip.
As the family members followed Sherland and the officers out of the house, the woman in the clip shouted: “It takes three cops, four cops, coming into my house with no permission. No permission and busted in my front door."
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 (£1,200) bond.
UNILAD has contacted Tontitown Police Department for further comment.