What a year it has been for the City of Portland. Yesterday reports surfaced that the Mayor of Portland, Ted Wheeler, pepper-sprayed an unarmed and unmasked man.
Pepper Spray is legal in Oregon, but can only be used in certain circumstances. According to Oregon Law, a person can be charged with “unlawful usage” of pepper spray. The question is, was Wheeler within his legal rights?
Wheeler explained to the police that he was leaving a pub at 8 p.m. when the man (the man that he pepper sprayed) was filming him and accusing Wheeler of not wearing a mask, while a patron of a restaurant bound by law to mandate masks. More specifically bound by the mayors laws.
The maskless man followed Wheeler to his vehicle and got too close for the mayors comfort. He claims he was frightened for his personal safety. He deployed the pepper spray.
Wheeler is cooperating with the police in their investigation. The victim of the Mayors pepper spray has not yet been identified.
