The chief operating officer of Beyond Meat has been suspended by the company after he was charged with felony battery after a fight in Fayetteville in which police say he bit a man's nose.
In a release Tuesday afternoon, El Segundo, Calif.-based Beyond Meat said its COO Doug Ramsey has been suspended immediately and operations activities will be handled by Jonathan Nelson, senior vice president, manufacturing operations.
Police also charged Ramsey, 53, with making a terroristic threat after the attack in a parking garage Saturday at Fayetteville. Ramsey had spent more than 30 years at Springdale-based Tyson Foods before joining Beyond Meat Inc. as its chief operating officer late last year.
Tyson Foods was an investor in Beyond Meat but sold its stake in 2019 just before Beyond Meat's initial public offering and began to develop its own alternative protein products.
Shares of Beyond Meat closed at $15.90, down 13 cents or less than 1% in trading Wednesday on the Nasdaq.