Tigard police make arrest in Washington Square ‘pepper spray’ incident; suspect apologizes - oregonlive.com

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Oct 19, 2024

Tigard police make arrest in Washington Square ‘pepper spray’ incident; suspect apologizes - oregonlive.com

Public safety news from The Oregonian/OregonLive. Beaverton police arrested a 26-year-old man accused of spraying a Washington Square store manager in the face with what’s now been identified as bear

Public safety news from The Oregonian/OregonLive.

Beaverton police arrested a 26-year-old man accused of spraying a Washington Square store manager in the face with what’s now been identified as bear spray after the manager tried to stop him from shoplifting.

Kelsey Anderson, a spokesperson for Tigard police who responded to the mall Monday, said police found the man at a transit station in Beaverton and booked him into jail on accusations of theft and unlawful use of mace.

The man, Peter Lent, is also being accused of stealing the bear spray from a separate store in Tualatin, police said.

Lent on Thursday called The Oregonian/OregonLive and said he regretted what happened at Washington Square, saying he had taken bed linens from Pottery Barn when the manager followed him. He said he has been homeless on and off since he was 18.

Lent said he stole the bed linens to sleep on.

The spray also affected nearby shoppers, though no one reported serious injuries.

“It was really unfortunate that it happened,” he said. “It should not have happened at all, and I will make sure that incident will not happen again.”

He said he was trying to do what he could to get through each day.

“Not all of us are bad. A lot of us do our best to survive,” said Lent. “Even if that means breaking laws. We would rather risk breaking the law and going to jail than starving on the streets or getting stabbed.”

— Tyler Brown is a breaking news reporter for The Oregonian/OregonLive. You can reach him at [email protected] or 503-221-8243.

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