Tontitown Police respond to viral video of arrest
The Tontitown Police Department has responded to a viral video posted on social media of a man being forcefully arrested at his home in Tontitown.
UPDATE: Sherland was released on bond late Saturday night and has a hearing on Monday morning, according to the Washington County Jail's website.
TONTITOWN, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) — The Tontitown Police Department has responded to a viral video posted on social media of a man being forcefully arrested at his home in Tontitown.
According to a police statement, Tontitown police were contacted by a resource officer with Springdale Public Schools with a welfare concern and said a juvenile male went to school with a piercing in his left ear.
Police say they went to the home of Jeremy Sherland, the father of the teen.
It was there police said Sherland admitted to piercing his son’s ear. They say when they tried to speak to his son, Sherland refused and officers left his home.
Officers returned to Sherland’s home later after getting a probable cause arrest and when officers asked Sherland to step outside, he refused and stood in the doorway.
According to the video, Sherland was pushed back into the house, where then multiple officers held him against the wall and he was then arrested. The video finishes by showing Sherland being placed into the back of a police car.
The release states Sherland violated the Arkansas law of "performing body art on a person under 16 years of age, regardless of parental consent” which is a Class D felony.
Sherland is also charged with "Endangering the Welfare of a Minor, Refusal to Submit to Arrest, and Obstructing Governmental Operations".
We will continue to update this story with more information as it becomes available.