The man who, according to police, was sprayed with pepper spray by Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler, after aggressively confronting him, is a partner in a local law firm and heir to Alpenrose Dairy.
Cary Randall Cadonau, 48, is the person the authorities believe approached the mayor with a cell phone camera when he left a pub in southwest Portland on Sunday night, according to an updated police report released on Tuesday.
Cadonau did not immediately return a call for comment.
Wheeler told police that the man who confronted him with ex-mayor Sam Adams outside McMenamins Hillsdale Brewery & Public House on Southwest Sunset Boulevard was not wearing a mask, yelled at him less than a foot away and refused to retreat when requested.
That’s when Wheeler hit him in the face with pepper spray, said the mayor.
Police said they identified Cadonau after he returned to the pub on Monday and asked a manager for security video footage and a copy of Wheeler’s restaurant guide.
The manager refused to provide them, but Cadonau gave him his full name and contact information, according to the police report.
A policeman interviewed Cadonau on Monday afternoon. He told the policeman he was a lawyer and hesitated to discuss the matter involving the mayor, the report said.
Cadonau told the officer that he believed Wheeler should be held “responsible” for the incident, but when the officer asked why, Cadonau refused to say.
“I asked him several times if he wanted to talk about the incident, share his video or provide his side of the story, but he respectfully refused to say anything more,” wrote officer Matt Miller in the report.
Cadonau is a partner at Brownstein Rask, a prominent mid-sized law firm in downtown Portland. His practice includes real estate law, personal injury and criminal defense, according to the company’s website.
“Cary likes to work to come up with creative solutions to disputes,” says his company’s bio.
Cadonau, a great-grandson of the founder of Alpenrose Dairy in southwest Portland, was also one of the company’s heirs who was involved in a close legal dispute with other family members.
He and brothers Carl Cadonau III and Tracey Cadonau McKinnon sued their aunts and cousins in 2019 to block the sale of the dairy.
A judge, however, refused to block the sale with an injunction, saying the three were unlikely to win the case at trial.
This is a developing story. Please check again for updates.
– Shane Dixon Kavanaugh; 503-294-7632
Email at [email protected]
Follow on Twitter @shanedkavanaugh
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