A veteran Little Rock sergeant was arrested Sunday morning after a fistfight with his teenage son over chores, arrest reports said.
Sgt. Donald Wood, an officer in the Little Rock Police Department since 1995 and currently a downtown patrol supervisor, was put on administrative leave Monday, a day after he was booked at the Pulaski County jail and charged with third-degree domestic battery.
Wood's wife, Sharon, called the Pulaski County sheriff's office about 10:51 a.m. and told dispatchers that her husband was trading blows with their 16-year-old son, Hunter, reports said.
While on their way to the Wood's Jack Duncan Road home just outside Cabot, deputies were given an "officer safety" update, which meant that because Wood is an officer, responding deputies needed to be aware that there could be a gun at the scene, according to sheriff's office officials.
By the time deputies arrived, the father and son were separated, and they saw the teenager wearing a torn T-shirt, deputies' reports said.
Wood told deputies that he and his son were arguing about "going to church, but everything was OK now," reports said.
Deputies noticed that Wood was "sweating profusely" but also noted that the weather was very warm.
While interviewing Hunter Wood, deputies learned that Donald Wood and his son were sitting inside the family vehicle when Donald Wood started yelling at his son about "not doing yardwork and making up his bed." The argument escalated and then turned physical.
According to Hunter Wood, his father stepped out of the vehicle and walked around it, opened his son's door and started hitting him "all over" with his fists, arrest reports said.
The teen hopped out, and the two struggled outside the vehicle for several minutes in front of Wood's wife, another sibling and a friend.
The witnesses, including Wood's wife, corroborated the boy's account of the fight, reports show.
The 16-year-old had a bloody elbow, a cut on his finger and a red mark on the side of his neck, according to reports.
After being treated for an undisclosed medical condition, Donald Wood was taken to the county jail where he posted a $2,500 bond before being released.
Little Rock police spokesman Sgt. Cassandra Davis said Wood was "relieved of duty" and had to surrender his service weapon pending an investigation.
Although Wood was not on duty at the time of the fight and arrest, he is the subject of an internal investigation in accordance with department policy, Davis said, and will likely remain off duty until the investigation is finished.
State law forbids those convicted of domestic battery from carrying weapons.
Wood is to appear in Pulaski County District Court on Aug. 19.
Metro on 07/16/2014