Police identified a man who was sprayed by Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler as a lawyer named Cary Cadonau
PORTLAND, Oregon. – Police on Tuesday identified a man who was sprayed by Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler as a partner in a law firm who also tried to obtain surveillance footage of the mayor at a restaurant and obtain a copy of the food receipt.
An additional police report identified Cary Cadonau as the man Wheeler sprayed with pepper after confronting the mayor leaving a restaurant Sunday evening and accusing him of not wearing a mask. No charges have been filed in the incident. Cadonau did not immediately return any emails seeking comments.
Wheeler and Sam Adams, who served as Portland mayor between 2009 and 2013, had been eating in a shopping area and were walking toward their cars when Cadonau approached, unmasked and approached. in the mayor’s face as he filmed with his phone. to police reports.
According to a statement the mayor gave to police, Wheeler informed the man of the current COVID-19 regulations, which allow people to take off their masks to eat or drink.
“He then accused me of other things to which I indicated that I didn’t understand the rules and that I should probably understand better if I was going to confront people,” Wheeler said in his statement.
Wheeler said the man was a foot or two away from him and that Wheeler was concerned about his safety and hiring the COVID-19. Wheeler told the man to “go back” and that he was carrying pepper spray, which he would use if necessary. When the man did not listen, the mayor said he sprayed his eyes.
“He looked surprised and backed away,” Wheeler told police. “He made a comment like, ‘I can’t believe I just sprayed pepper.'”
Adams, whose statement to police was consistent with that of the mayor, suggested to Wheeler that he 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 police when he contacted Monday that he did not want to discuss the matter because he was a lawyer. He said the mayor should be “responsible,” but declined to elaborate, according to the police report.
According to the report, Cadonau was asked why he tried to obtain surveillance footage from the Hillsdale neighborhood restaurant in Portland, as well as the pub’s food and beverage receipt.
“Mr. Cadonau said he wanted the bill because it would show how much alcohol the mayor consumed that night. I asked him several times if he wanted to talk about the incident, share his video footage or provide him with his side of the story, but he respectfully refused to say anything else, ”Officer Matt Miller wrote.
The 2019 stories in The Oregonian / OregonLive identify a lawyer named Cary Cadonau who is arguing in court over the sale of his family’s business, Alpenrose Dairy, to a Seattle-based company.
Wheeler, who was re-elected in November, has been targeted by left-wing protesters, including some who smashed windows and set fire to a small interior inside his condominium building.