PORTLAND, OR- Last September, Portland Mayor
Ted Wheeler decided that his officers, despite the fact they had
been dealing with nearly four months of nightly, violent riots in
the city, decided he was going to take one of their tools away from
them…the use of tear gas.
Apparently, those rules don’t apply to Wheeler, however.
According to the
New York Post at the time, Wheeler, who had also been gassed
during one of those protests said “we need something different”
in order to put a stop to the nightly anarchy taking place in
Portland.
Wheeler, however, doesn’t appear to follow his own rules.
Law Enforcement Today received a copy of a report from the
Portland Police Bureau, dated January 24, 2021 in which the
officers of the bureau responded to the Hillsdale Brew Pub in the
city at around 9:00 p.m.
Portland Police
Bureau Report-Wheeler Pg. 1- Public Record
Officers responded to the restaurant on a complaint from Robert
King, Senior Policy Advisor on Public Safety for Wheeler, who
notified the bureau that Wheeler had been involved in an incident
in which “WHEELER used pepper spray against an unknown
person.”
�
.@tedwheeler
was with Sam Adams at Hillsdale McMenamin’snPub Sunday night when
a man started videotaping him. The man followed the mayor to his
car , was ‘right in my face,’ without a mask and refused to
back away when Wheeler sprayed him in eyes with pepper spray,
report says— Maxine Bernstein (@maxoregonian)
January 25, 2021
Wait, so Wheeler BANNED his officers from using gas for
defensive purposes against VIOLENT rioters in downtown Portland,
yet HE used pepper spray against someone? The irony is just too
rich.
According to Wheeler’s statement, he was leaving the Hillsdale
McMenamin’s pub, and was confronted by a middle-aged male, who
was taking video of Wheeler with a cell phone.
The male suggested he “had been photographing†Wheeler while
he was inside the restaurant. The male accused Wheeler of not
wearing a mask.
Wheeler Report PG 2-
Public Records
Wheeler said he was “in the tented area of a restaurant
sitting at a table,†and he was complying with current COVID
regulations where people can “take their mask off for the purpose
of eating and drinking.â€
The subject then accused Wheeler of other matters, to which
Wheeler told him “he did not understand the rules and should
probably have a better understanding if he was going to confront
people about them.â€
Wheeler said the man followed him to his car, still shooting
video on his cell phone. While attempting to get into his car,
Wheeler said the man came closer, without a face mask on and
“within a foot or two of my face while he was videoing me.â€
Wheeler expressed concern because of a recent physical
altercation he had been involved in, which
Law Enforcement Today reported a couple of weeks back.
Wheeler also expressed concern about contracting COVID even
though Wheeler admitted that he in fact was wearing a mask himself,
or believed he was, but possibly removed it as he entered his
car.
Wheeler said he told the man to back off, which he refused to
do.
He said he told the man he was carrying pepper spray and warned
that he would use it against the man “if he didn’t back off.â€
Wheeler said the man remained “at a close distance†so he
“pulled out my pepper spray and I sprayed him in the eyes.â€
Wheeler Report PG
3-Public Record
He said the man seemed “surprised†(who wouldn’t be?) and
backed off. Wheeler said the man walked away from his car, at which
time his companion told him he (Wheeler) should leave for his
safety.
Tha mayor then said he threw a full water bottle toward the man
so he “could wash out his eyes with water.†Wheeler then left
the scene and notified his chief of staff and deputy chief of staff
about what happened.
Wheeler said upon questioning by the responding officer that he
did not recognize the man he pepper-sprayed from any previous
encounters, to which Wheeler said he did not.
Wheeler’s companion, the aptly named Sam Adams, former mayor
of Portland, was later contacted about the incident.
Adams confirmed Wheeler’s version of the events. Neither
Wheeler nor Adams indicated that the man who was sprayed posed an
imminent threat or had physically threatened him, only that he was
“in close proximity.â€
There were apparently no other identifiable witnesses to the
incident.
The investigating officer noted that Adams had recorded the
incident, but only got audio.
It was 1:31 long and seemed to be consistent with what Wheeler
and Adams had said.
So, the question becomes was Wheeler legally justified in using
pepper spray?
Under police use of force continuum, the use of chemical agents
falls within the escalation of force, so it’s reasonable to
assume that the same criteria police officers would need to use
pepper spray as a use of force would also apply to civilians.
Under ORS
161.205, Use of physical force generally, it says that:
The use of physical force upon another person that would
otherwise constitute an offense is justifiable and not criminal
under any of the following circumstances:
…
(5) A person may use physical force upon another person in
self-defense or in defending a third person, in defending property,
in making an arrest or in preventing an escape, as hereafter
prescribed in chapter 743, Oregon Laws 1971…
Under definitions, ORS 151.015, General
Definitions:
(6) “Physical force†includes, but is not limited to, the
use of an electrical stun gun, tear gas, or mace. [it would seem
obvious that pepper spray would fall under either tear gas or
mace]
With that in mind, was Wheeler in fact acting in
“self-defense?†Other than being afraid of “contracting
Covid,†and the guy being somewhat aggressive toward him, at
least verbally, would Wheeler be justified in using pepper
spray?
He said he was worried about
contracting covid but he was eating at a restaurant. Seriously this
story is just dripping with irony— dead inside â˜ºï¸ (@GracefulBlabber)
January 25, 2021
The question becomes, as Police Commissioner, and if one of the
officers of the Portland Police Bureau was in the same situation
and they used pepper spray against someone under the same
circumstances, what would Wheeler do?
And why did Wheeler call his “staff†instead of reporting
the incident directly to police himself?
Was the incident a couple weeks ago on Wheeler’s mind? Maybe.
But it’s delicious irony that Wheeler, who banned his officers
from using chemical agents against people who were ACTUALLY
assaulting them and trying to inflict serious physical injury
himself used a chemical agent against someone who was basically
just yelling at him.
Just as with the COVID rules made up by politicians, there are
two sets of rules…one for the ruling political class, the others
for the rest of us.
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The post
Portland mayor – who banned cops from using tear gas – pepper
sprays man ‘harassing him’ for not wearing mask appeared
first on Law
Enforcement Today.
