Portland Food Cart Owner Who Used Racial Slur Will Pay $1,000

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — The owner of a Portland food cart has agreed to pay $1,000 to a customer he physically and verbally attacked last month.

In exchange, charges of fourth-degree assault and harassment have been dismissed.

The owner, Islam El Masry, apparently became upset when the customer wanted to pay her $7 tab with coins. The owner eventually shoved the money back at her and called her a racial slur. He also sprayed hot sauce and threw a bottle of Gatorade at the woman, who is Black.

Court records show El Masry and the customer signed a civil compromise to have charges dismissed.

El Masry declined comment to The Oregonian/OregonLive on Monday.

In YouTube videos published after the incident, El Masry said he had been in a bad mood at the time of the confrontation because of business pressures and because he was cooking food while fasting for Ramadan.