‘IN THE EYES’

Portland Mayor Says He Blasted an Unmasked Man With Pepper Spray

Ted Wheeler says he was forced to deploy his pepper spray when an unnamed man got too close while confronting him on camera.

Portland’s mayor Ted Wheeler says he was forced to shoot pepper spray directly into the eyes of a member of the public on Sunday night when he was approached by a man who wasn’t wearing a mask. According to The Oregonian, Wheeler had just finished a pub meal on Sunday night when a middle-aged man confronted him for going maskless while dining. Wheeler told police that he had eaten in a tented area of the pub, where masks are not required under local guidelines. However, that explanation failed to satisfy the unnamed and unmasked man, who questioned the mayor while videoing him. “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 mayor told police. Wheeler, who says he provided a bottle of water to the man to rinse out his eyes, is cooperating with a police investigation.