Woman on date allegedly pepper sprayed by staff at west-end Toronto restaurant

Left, paintedladyossington/Instagam, Right, Handout provided by Samantha Blakey.

TORONTO -

An Ontario resident’s date night took a turn for the worse last weekend after she says she was indirectly pepper sprayed by a bartender.

Samantha Blakey and her boyfriend Shea Robinson arrived at The Painted Lady, located at 218 Ossington Avenue, just after 10:30 p.m. on Sunday.

Blakey told CTV News Toronto Wednesday that the two were sitting at the restaurant’s bar when a male reportedly entered and began harassing staff.

“There was a man in front of us harassing one of the patrons outside and the bartenders were trying to get him to go away,” she said.

To avoid any confrontation, Blakey and Robinson moved to a table on the patio to enjoy their evening — but the incident didn’t end there.

Blakey says about 30 minutes later, the man returned and police were called to address the situation.

But before officers could arrive, Blakey said that a bartender working at The Painted Lady made a decision to disperse pepper spray at the man, who happened to be standing in front of her.

“I guess the bartender decided at that point .. she was gonna pull out pepper spray and just spray it into the air,” Blakey said.

The spray hit Blakey in the face, arms, and legs, she said.

“I've never been in pain like that. It was just like an instant burning sensation. I thought I was blind because like couldn't open my eyes at all,” she said.

Toronto police confirmed the incident to CTV News Toronto on Wednesday.

According to police, they received reports of a male at 218 Ossington yelling, acting uncooperatively and harassing people. Within that report, someone was identified as having been pepper sprayed.

Toronto police say that the male was placed under arrest and transported to hospital for evaluation and that the individual who was pepper sprayed received medical attention

Despite multiple attempts, no one from The Painted Lady has returned CTV News Toronto’s request for a comment. Blakey says the restaurant has yet to answer her emails, as well.

Blakey confirms that she did in fact receive medical attention after the incident.

“They called an ambulance because I literally couldn't see or do anything. I was just sitting there covered in pepper spray,” she said.

“The people who work there were pouring milk on me because they thought that it would do something, but when the ambulance came they said that doesn't do anything.”

Upon arrival, paramedics gave Blakey a solution to pour on herself in the restaurant bathroom, but she says she wasn’t truly able to rid herself of the substance until she went home to have a shower

Since the incident, Blakey has been forced to miss work and is still dealing with health issues.

“I didn't end up going [to work] the last two days,” she said.

“From the time it happened, I’ve had this insane headache. Also, for the first two days, I still had blurry vision. I started to drive at one point and I had to stop because I didn't feel comfortable.”

Blakey says, more than anything, she just wants to hear back from the staff at The Painted Lady.

“That’s what’s the most upsetting to me. I wouldn't be as upset if they had at least reached out but they [haven’t].”