pleaseberespectfulsign.jpg

The "Please Be Respectful'' sign that sits outside Portland police Capt. Todd Wyatt's Southwest Portland home. (Maxine Bernstein)

Juli Norman, a 59-year-old professional pet sitter, was walking two dogs in a Southwest Portland neighborhood this week when she paused in front of the driveway of a home to let the white terrier poop in a grassy berm between the sidewalk and the street.

Suddenly, the homeowner "flew out his door" and started screaming at Norman that it was his property, she said. He told her that she shouldn't let the dog stop there and to read the signs he had put up near that spot.

A small placard, dug into the grass at an animal's eye level, read: "Please be respectful."

Norman was walking with a brace on her right knee, holding one crutch and the two dog leashes. She told the homeowner she didn't want to hear it, that she had already picked up the dog waste.

Juli Norman took this photo of the garden hose that she said off-duty Capt. Todd Wyatt doused her with on Tues., May 3, 2016, as she was picking up poop from a dog she was walking in his Southwest Portland neighborhood.

She was tying a knot in a biodegradable bag when the homeowner confronted her, she said Friday.

"I said, 'No this is an easement, and that blew him up,'' Norman said. She yelled that she had already picked up the dog waste, adding a few expletives to make her point.

What happened next that Tuesday afternoon was even more shocking, said Norman and her friend, Sheri Esser, who was on the phone with her through the confrontation.

The man grabbed his garden hose, walked down his driveway and when he got within 5 feet of Norman, he sprayed her with water.

"He sprayed me directly in my face. I am dripping,'' Norman said. "I was stunned. When I turned my back, he continued and drenched my back.''

"Call the police!'' Norman screamed loudly, and through her headset to her friend. "Sheri, call 911!''

Norman said she had threatened to spit at the homeowner, but didn't. She ended up dialing 911 herself. "I've just been assaulted by a man, and I want somebody here now,'' she said she reported.

A short time later, she found out that police already had someone at the scene: the homeowner himself. Off-duty Portland police Capt. Todd Wyatt was the one who had just doused her with his garden hose.

Wyatt, 48, has been in hot water before, demoted in December 2012 after a Portland police review board found he inappropriately touched several female employees and escalated an off-duty road rage confrontation by flashing his gun and badge at another motorist.

Then-Chief Mike Reese didn't follow the nearly unanimous recommendation of the review board to fire Wyatt, but demoted him instead. The board had questioned his ability to perform with integrity, "considering the gravity of his untruthfulness/untrustworthiness.'' Two years later, an arbitrator ordered Wyatt be reinstated to the captain's rank with a 60-day suspension without pay instead. Wyatt will mark his 25th year with the bureau in July.

Todd Wyatt

Esser, Norman's friend, had done a bit of research, figuring out the man who owned the home was named Wyatt. A Google search of his name found several newspaper articles about his controversial police career. Esser alerted Norman and drove to the scene.

When Esser arrived, she said she found Norman "soaked head to toe.''

Norman, who has run

K-9 to 5 Pet Sitting Service

for 20 years, said she had never experienced anything like it.

She said she'd seen Wyatt's sign before, but wasn't about to "boot the dog into the street."

"The dog was on a leash. I cleaned it up. That's the law,'' she said.

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Two officers responded to the 6400 block of Southwest Loop Drive and interviewed Norman, Esser and some neighbors. Wyatt at first wouldn't come out when officers knocked on his door, but eventually emerged from his home, Norman said.

Norman told the officers she wanted Wyatt charged with assault. A police detective followed up that night, seeking statements from both Norman and her friend.

Detectives are conducting an investigation and will forward it to the district attorney's office for review, Sgt. Pete Simpson said. Wyatt remains working as supervisor of the forensic evidence division, he said.

Wyatt, reached Friday morning, suggested the woman involved suffers from mental health issues and that independent witnesses will back that up. "I feel sorry for her mental health,'' he said, declining to comment further about his actions.

Wyatt's attorney, Steven L. Myers, didn't return messages Friday morning.

Valerie Haskins, a nanny for a family in the neighborhood, said she walked by about 4 p.m. and saw the woman with the two dogs and police. She said she didn't notice any water on the ground by Wyatt's driveway and the woman appeared to be dry.

Norman and Esser said police took photos of Norman's front, and asked her to turn around, because the back of her sweatshirt was wet. "I couldn't see how wet it was but could feel it,'' Esser said.

The Independent Police Review Division will conduct an internal investigation because the inquiry involves a high-ranking officer, said Constantin Severe, division director.

Norman said she believes Wyatt shouldn't be allowed to carry a gun.

"He's got an anger problem,'' she said. "I am not vindictive, but he's in power. He has no right to be in power. He has no control over his emotions.''

-- Maxine Bernstein

mbernstein@oregonian.com

503-221-8212

@maxoregonian