PORTLAND, OR – Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler was exiting McMenamins Hillside Brewery and Public House on Southwest Sunset Boulevard on Sunday when an unmasked man wielding a camera approached him and confronted him about not wearing a mask inside the eatery.
“He had no face mask on and got within a foot or two of my face while he was videoing me,” Wheeler said of the man that approached him. “I became imminently concerned for my personal safety.”
Wheeler said he told the man to back off and warned him that he would be sprayed if he didn’t.
“I clearly informed him that he needed to back off. He did not do so I informed him that I was carrying pepper spray and that I would use it if he did not back off. He remained at close distance, I pulled out my pepper spray and I sprayed him in the eyes.” the Portland police report read.
After the incident, the kind and gentle Wheeler gave the man a bottle of water to wash up with.