Father arrested for piercing son’s ear without a license, police say

TONITOWN, Ark. (Gray News) – A father in Arkansas is facing charges after police say he pierced his son’s ear without a license.

Video of Jeremy Sherland’s arrest went viral on TikTok.

In response to the video, the Tonitown Police Department released a statement, saying their investigation began Thursday when officers were contacted by a school resource officer.

Police said the resource officer told them a teacher was concerned about a student in class who said his dad “was drunk and put him in a chokehold and shoved the piercing in his ear.”

Officers said they questioned Sherland about the alleged incident, and he admitted to piercing his son’s ear.

However, police said Sherland refused to answer further questions, and officers left the residence. They returned later to arrest Sherland.

The TikTok video of the arrest shows four police officers entering the home and handcuffing Sherland. When he demands to know what the charges are, he throws his head back in laughter, shouting “Body art without a license! Body art without a license!”

A woman in the video questions why “piercing his son’s ear without a license takes three cops, four cops?”

A boy’s voice can also be heard in the video, saying, “I wanted my ears pierced.”

Tonitown police cited state law which states, “a person shall not perform body art on a person under sixteen years of age, regardless of parental consent,” and “it is unlawful to perform body art in any unlicensed facility.”

Violation of this law is a class D felony, police said. Sherland is also facing additional charges, including third-degree endangering the welfare of a minor, refusal to submit to arrest and obstructing government operations.

Sherland was released on bond and his arraignment was set for May 22.

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