Portland mayor told police he sprayed pepper on a man who harassed him over mask policies

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advises restaurant owners to sit outside, at least six feet from other groups and wear masks whenever patrons are not eating or drinking, according to guidelines updated January 6.

In the police statement, Wheeler said he was approached outside the Hillsdale McMenamin pub on Sunday by a man he did not recognize. The man said he photographed the mayor while in the restaurant’s tent and accused the mayor of being in the restaurant without a mask against Covid-19 policies, Wheeler said in the statement .

The man appeared to be recording it with a cell phone, Wheeler said, adding that he told the man that people were allowed to temporarily remove a mask to eat and drink at a restaurant, the statement said.

Wheeler said the man followed him to his car.

“I became very concerned for my personal safety as I had recently been physically accosted in a similar situation,” Wheeler said. The mayor says he first warned verbally that he was ready to use the pepper spray, then sprayed the man in the eyes.

Wheeler was confronted earlier this month at a restaurant by a group of people shouting obscenities, and “a member of the group started hitting the mayor and made physical contact with him.”

The police report said Wheeler was with former Portland mayor Sam Adams at the time, who confirmed the incident to an officer. Adams did not immediately respond to CNN’s request for comment.

Adams attempted to videotape the encounter, but was only able to capture audio, which is consistent with Wheeler’s and Adam’s story, according to the police report.

Wheeler and Adams both say that Wheeler threw a water bottle at the man so he could wash his eyes, but he did not stay at the scene. Soon after, a member of the mayor’s staff called the police to initiate the report.