Police identified the man who was sprayed with pepper spray by Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler over the weekend as a partner in a local law firm and heir to a Seattle-based dairy company, according to police and reports .
A police report released on Tuesday said Wheeler sprayed pepper spray on Cary Cadonau after he confronted the Democratic mayor who was leaving a restaurant on Sunday night and accused him of not wearing a mask. He also reportedly tried to obtain a copy of the mayor’s meal receipt and surveillance footage of his time inside the restaurant, police said.
No charges were filed in the incident. Cadonau did not immediately respond to Fox News’ e-mail request for comment.
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Wheeler was having dinner in a tent area with Sam Adams, who served as mayor of Portland, from 2009 to 2013. The men were walking to their cars when Cadonau approached, unmasked and came close to the mayor’s face while filming with his phone, according to police reports.
Wheeler told the man about the current COVID-19 regulations, which allow people to remove their mask to eat or drink, according to a statement the mayor gave to the police.
“He accused me of sitting in a restaurant without a mask,” said the report. “In fact, I was in the tent area of a restaurant sitting at the table and I informed him that current Covid regulations allow people to remove their masks to eat and drink.”
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The mayor’s statement continued: “He then accused me of other things for which I indicated that he did not understand the rules and should probably have a better understanding if he were going to confront people about them.”
Wheeler said the man was about a foot or two from him, and Wheeler was concerned about his safety and hired COVID-19. Wheeler told the man to “back off” and was carrying pepper spray, which he would use if necessary. As the man did not listen, the mayor said he sprayed him in the eyes.
“He looked surprised and stepped back,” Wheeler told police. “He made a comment like, ‘I can’t believe you just sprayed me with pepper’.”
Adams, whose statement to the police was consistent with the mayor’s, suggested to Wheeler that he should leave for his safety. Before doing so, Wheeler said he threw a bottle of water at the man so he could wash his eyes, he told police.
Cadonau told the police, when contacted on Monday, that he did not want to discuss the matter because he was a lawyer. He said the mayor should be “held accountable” but gave no further details, according to the police report.
Cadonau was asked why he tried to get surveillance footage of the restaurant in Portland’s Hillsdale neighborhood, as well as Wheeler’s pub food and drink receipt, according to the report.
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“Mr. Cadonau said he wanted the receipt because it would show the amount of alcohol the mayor consumed that night. I asked him several times if he wanted to talk about the incident, share his video or tell his version of the story, but he respectfully refused to say no more, “wrote officer Matt Miller.
2019 stories on The Oregonian / OregonLive identify a lawyer named Cary Cadonau discussing in court the sale of his family’s company, Alpenrose Dairy, to a Seattle-based company.
Wheeler, who was re-elected in November, was targeted by left-wing protesters, including some who broke windows and set a small fire in his condo building.
Louis Casiano of Fox News contributed to this report, as well as The Associated Press.