California woman pepper-sprays couple at dog park for not wearing masks while they were eating lunch
SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA: A couple was maced by an unidentified woman at a dog park where they were enjoying a picnic together because they were not wearing face masks.
Ash O'Brien, her husband Jarrett Kelley and their three-month-old puppy visited Rhodes Dog Park in San Diego on Thursday, July 23, when the disturbing incident, which was partially caught on camera, happened. In the footage, which started recording halfway through the confrontation, the masked woman is seen pepper-spraying Kelley as he tried to wrestle the can of mace out of her hands. Meanwhile, O'Brien could be heard wailing in the background.
When the unidentified woman was confronted by a number of bystanders who witnessed the event, she and her dog then quickly left the park. Before she could get away, one female witness exclaimed, "What is your problem? You just maced him!" while a man beside her said, "That's just wrong!" After that, the female witness added, ''You just maced them and their food because you disagree.''
You can see the video here.
According to a Facebook post penned by O'Brien regarding the incident, the couple chose not to wear masks because they were sitting down in the park for lunch. She also said that the woman initially bothered them by calling them 'idiots' and flipping O'Brien off. ''We were not wearing masks because we were eating. You can’t wear a mask and eat at the same time," wrote O'Brien in the post. "Then she started saying more stuff and I told her to leave the park and stop harassing us."
The woman then reportedly approached the table where the couple was enjoying lunch and without warning aimed the pepper spray at them. ''She then came right up to our table where we were eating, pointed the mace at me first and got a little on me, and then my husband stepped in and took the entire can,'' wrote O'Brien.
After the incident, Kelley received medical treatment at a nearby hospital. The couple has filed a misdemeanor battery report with the local police department and they want the woman to be held accountable for her actions. "I want her to go to jail, she assaulted my husband, and I’m angry about it," O'Brien told ABC 10.
There were reports of the park having a no-food policy but O'Brien said that they were not eating in a restricted area. “If we knew there was a no food policy, we wouldn’t have brought it into the park,” she said. "The lady who maced him automatically started saying stuff about us not wearing a mask when we were social distancing; there was no one near us," O'Brien added.
O'Brien added that she was set against the fact that people who were choosing not to wear masks in public were getting physically assaulted. She was also glad that the unidentified woman who attacked them in the park did not harm any of her dogs. ''People don’t need to be getting assaulted for not wearing a mask in a public outdoor area,'' said O'Brien.
As cases of Covid-19 and related deaths continue to climb, the state of California has implemented a face-covering mandate. According to John Hopkins University and Medicine, there have been over 8,400 reported deaths in California so far.