Pepper sprayed 81 year old

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Arrest motivates man to work for sheriff's opponentFriday, August 27, 2010
Anna Mathews Carroll County News

Edward "Blue John" Chevallier is motivated to use his political clout to oust the current county sheriff in the upcoming election because of his recent arrest, which he claims was unjustly brutal. Anna Mathews / Carroll County News
[Click to enlarge]BERRYVILLE -- Eighty-one-year-old Edward "Blue John" Chevallier of Berryville was arrested Aug. 16 on multiple charges after county deputies responded to a complaint phoned in by one of his tenants.
Blue John, who manages 10 rental properties at his mobile home park, located along U.S. Hwy. 62 west of the Kings River Bridge, admits he had an encounter with a tenant but questions the actions that followed when lawmen arrived.
Also in question is the legality of that arrest, according to "Rules of Criminal Procedure," which outlines provisions for warrantless arrests.
He was charged with criminal trespass, harassment, disorderly conduct and refusal to submit to arrest.
Blue John claims he was pepper-sprayed and thrown to the ground, and one deputy stood with a foot on his head while the other handcuffed him.
He says the action took place after he was told he was being arrested, and he asked permission to put his dog in a pen before they handcuffed him and took him away.
The deputies have a different story, claiming Chevallier became agitated and raised his arm while holding scissors and did not comply with a deputy's command to put the scissors down.
"They sprayed me with that damn pepper spray, threw me on the ground, stood on top of my head, handcuffed and took me to jail," he claims.
Blue John said the arrest took place about 8 p.m. Monday night, Aug. 16, out at his garden spot on his property after he had an encounter with a tenant who had called the law once before. At that time, he was verbally told to stay away from the tenant.
The deputy's report says the complaining tenant phoned this time to say Blue John had taunted him and cussed him in the past trying to get him to fight and on this day Blue John was trying to get him to fight by calling him names.
Blue John claims he was sitting in a chair holding a pair of scissors he was using to cut tomato string when Corporal Joel Hand and Deputy Billy Floyd showed up Monday night.
He said Hand accused him of talking to the tenant after he had been told to stay away.
Blue John recalls challenging Hand by saying there was no court order in place to force him to stay away -- and Hand's response was to put him under arrest.
Blue John says he sustained injuries during his arrest, specifically when he was taken to the ground, and he had those injuries photographed the following day.
He said his jail time was minimal because a neighbor called former county sheriff Chuck Medford, a close friend, who had him released by 11 p.m