A hulking Tennessee mayor was arrested for allegedly body slamming his girlfriend’s son Sunday after the two got into a spat over yard work, according to authorities.
Town of Burns Mayor Landon Mathis reportedly promised to pay the child $40 for cutting weeds, but then took issue when the boy asked him for the payment.
Mathis reneged on the deal and allegedly assaulted the youngster, identified only as KP, according to a Dickson County Sheriff’s Office arrest affidavit obtained by WSMV.
The victim claimed to authorities he was talking to his mother inside the home about getting paid when Mathis approached him and grabbed him by his shirt collar before shoving him down on the couch, the police document states.
The boy alleged Mathis, 45, kept pushing him, hard enough that it left marks on the right side of his neck, authorities said.
“KP stated that his mother told them to break it up and KP to go to his room,” the arrest affidavit states.
As he started walking away from the confrontation, the child said Mathis “stepped on his feet” so the victim pushed him away, according to the documents.
That’s when Mathis allegedly grabbed the young man and body slammed him, “getting on top of him in some kind of neck hold and began to twist and push on his nose causing pain,” the affidavit alleges.
The age of the girlfriend’s son was not disclosed.
Mathis was charged with domestic assault, WSMV reported.
More than seven years ago Mathis was hailed a hero when he saved the life of the town’s previous mayor when he suffered a massive heart attack on Aug. 11, 2016 , according to a Tennessean report from then.
Mathis reportedly gave his ex-political rival mouth-to-mouth CPR after Jeff Bishop collapsed while the two were on a flooring job together after the former mayor started working for the Mathis’ business.
Mathis has been mayor of Burns – a town of more than 1,500 people – since 2012.
