California man pepper-sprayed at dog park for not wearing face mask

SAN DIEGO — A California couple were eating lunch at a dog park when a woman started a fight with them about not wearing face masks then pepper-sprayed a man.

“I want her to go to jail. She assaulted my husband, and I’m angry about it,” Ash O’Brien told KGTV. 

The O’Briens were at Dusty Rhodes Dog Park on Thursday afternoon, eating lunch at a picnic table with their 3-month-old pug.

A woman confronted them about not wearing face masks and told them there was a no-food policy at the park. The woman walked away, came back and emptied a can of pepper spray on him.

O'Brien said they were socially distant from others at the park and were not aware of the no food policy.

“If we knew there was a no-food policy, we wouldn’t have brought it into the park,” O’Brien 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's husband was taken to a hospital for treatment.

O'Brien said none of the dogs at the park were injured.

The couple have filed a police report.

“People don’t need to be getting assaulted for not wearing a mask in a public outdoor area,” O’Brien said.

Cox Media Group