San Francisco gallery proprietor arrested in spraying of homeless girl with hose
An art gallery owner from downtown San Francisco was arrested Wednesday afterward cell phone video showed him intentionally spraying a homeless woman with a hose, prompting outrage and condemnation.
A misdemeanor warrant was issued for Collier Gwin on Wednesday, San Francisco District Attorney Brook Jenkins said in a statement.
CBS San Francisco caught footage of Gwin taken into custody Wednesday afternoon near his gallery.
“The alleged battery of an unaccommodated member of our community is totally unacceptable. Mr. Gwin will face appropriate consequences for his actions,” Jenkins said in her statement.
According to prosecutors, the incident happened on January 9th. The video, posted to social media, showed a man spraying water on a homeless woman for several seconds while she was lying on the sidewalk.
In an interview with CBS San Francisco last week, Gwin admitted to being the man in the video. Gwin is the owner of the Foster Gwin Gallery in the city’s Financial District, according to CBS San Francisco, and the incident happened just steps from his gallery.
Collier Gwin speaks to CBS San Francisco. / Photo credit: CBS San Francisco
“What they saw is very unfortunate,” he told CBS San Francisco last week. “I feel terrible, not just because I want to get out of trouble or something, but because I tried so hard to help this woman.”
On Jan. 13, San Francisco Mayor London Breed spoke to reporters called The incident reminded her of how civil rights protesters were treated in the 1960s.
“When I saw it, all I could think about was what happened during the civil rights movement,” Breed said. “Unfortunately, this is at a time when African Americans were fighting for our rights to be seen as equal in this country. Even at the time, law enforcement and others used water hoses to stop protesters. And it kind of takes us back, unfortunately, to that time. And no other human should be able to do that to another human, period. As far as I’m concerned, it’s assault.
The story goes on
If convicted of the charges, Gwin faces a maximum sentence of six months in prison and a $2,000 fine, the prosecutor’s office said.
Since the video went viral, the victim has received assistance from the San Francisco Department of Public Health, according to CBS San Francisco.
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