He Allegedly Pierced His Teen Son's Ear, Got Arrested

Police in Arkansas arrested a man after he allegedly pierced his teenage son's ear. An investigation was launched Thursday after a teacher overheard the teen telling friends about the piercing, NBC News reports. According to the police report, the boy said that "his dad was drunk and put him in a choke hold and shoved the piercing in his ear." Police went to the home of Jeremy Sherland, 45, and he initially refused to talk to them; they later returned to arrest him. He can be heard laughing and repeating, "Body art without a license!" in video of the arrest.

KNWA reports it was Sherland's son who took the video, and the boy can be heard in it telling officers he wanted the piercing. He says the police report version of the story is not true, and that he thought having his ear pierced would be "cool." "I asked for it and so we just took ice and a potato and did it that way," he says. His father is charged with performing body art on a person under 16 years of age, regardless of parental consent; endangering the welfare of a minor; refusal to submit to arrest; and obstructing governmental operations. As for the body art law, NBC News notes that there appears to be an exception for ear piercing, but an expert says the statute could still apply since Sherland was allegedly not in a licensed facility. (More Arkansas stories.)