Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler Pepper-Sprayed a Dairy Heir Outside a McMenamins | Eater Portland

"At the Hillsdale McMenamins, where Mayor Ted Wheeler had been dining with former Mayor Sam Adams, I report that on Sunday, January 24 around 8 p.m. he was confronted by a middle-aged white male who, Wheeler says, was not wearing a mask and accused them of breaking social-distancing rules; the man followed Wheeler to his car, and Wheeler sprayed him with pepper spray and then reportedly threw him a water bottle so he could wash out his eyes. The man was later identified as Cary Randall Cadonau, a descendant of the founder of Alpenrose Dairy and a Portland lawyer; Cadonau wrote that he was “sorry that he felt the need to use pepper spray,” said he “cherish[es] Portland and our local community,” and acknowledged Wheeler’s difficult job. Audio from Sam Adams’s phone, obtained by Willamette Week, captures the protester accusing Wheeler and Adams of not social distancing and saying, “Thanks for ruining our city,” followed by Wheeler saying he was only a foot from him and the protester complaining, “You just pepper-sprayed me for literally no reason at all,” while Adams is heard saying, “You were, like, a foot from him. He asked you to back away and you didn't.” A McMenamins representative declined to comment and Wheeler’s office had not responded to requests for comment." - Alex Frane