A San Francisco gallery owner caught on video hose-spraying a homeless woman has been arrested and charged, authorities said Wednesday.
Collier Gwin, 71, is facing a misdemeanor charge after he was accused of intentionally and unlawfully spraying water at a woman who was sitting on a sidewalk in front of his gallery, according to San Francisco prosecutors, who have issued an arrest warrant for her issued by Gwin after reviewing evidence from a police investigation.
Gwin was arrested at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday and booked into a county jail on the warrant. The case remains an open investigation, police said in a statement.
Video of the Jan. 9 incident shows Gwin cross-legged against a fence and hose-housing a homeless woman while she sits outside his shop, the Foster Gwin Gallery in San Francisco’s North Beach neighborhood.
The woman tries to block the water with her hands as she speaks, but her words are indecipherable.
Gwin stops spraying, points to the street and says, “Hey, just move. Move. Move. Move. ok, are you moving? Are you moving?”
The incident was caught on video and posted on Twitter and TikTok, garnering millions of views and leading to public outcry and a police investigation.
The woman who was sprayed did not seek to press charges against Gwin, according to prosecutors, but prosecutors said on Wednesday that she had enough evidence to proceed.
The woman, known to service providers and homeless officials as “Q,” was hospitalized last week, the San Francisco Chronicle reported, but it was unclear why she was being treated.
After the video went viral, the window in Gwin’s gallery was shattered, according to prosecutors.
“The alleged battery of an unaccommodated member of our community is totally unacceptable. Mr. Gwin will face appropriate consequences for his actions,” Dist said. atty Brooke Jenkins said in a statement. “Similarly, the vandalism at the Foster Gwin Gallery is also unacceptable and must stop – two wrongs make no right.”
Gwin could not be reached for comment on Wednesday. It’s unclear if the gallery space will remain open.
On Monday, ABC7 in San Francisco reported that Gwin apologized for apologizing to the woman days after he said he “found it hard to apologize” for dousing the woman.
“I know it’s very hard to watch. I can only ask others to maybe better understand my breaking point,” Gwin told the news outlet. “I have the video to constantly remind myself that this is a big cross to bear.”
In an interview with the San Francisco Chronicle last week, Gwin admitted he splashed water on the woman and claimed she knocked over garbage cans in front of his gallery.
“I said, ‘You have to move; I can’t clean the street; move down,'” Gwin told the Chronicle.
Gwin claimed the woman had become “aggressive” and started spitting up.
“She was so out of control at that point … I hose her down and I’m like, ‘Move, move, I’ll help you,'” he said.
Gwin claimed he had let the woman sleep in the entryway of his gallery on several occasions and contacted police and social services to try to get the woman help, referring to himself as “Champion,” the Chronicle reported.
“So I’m sorry? I’m just sorry that… my way of helping her countless times didn’t work,” Gwin told the Chronicle.
San Francisco Supervisor Aaron Peskin, whose North Beach district is a part of, called the incident a “ruthless attack.”
“My office is well acquainted with the victim and has been trying to get her assistance for many months,” Peskin wrote on Twitter last week from the San Francisco Department of Public Health.
“It’s not North Beach, it’s not who we are as a community + we will not tolerate ‘vigilante’ attacks,” he wrote.
If convicted, Gwin could face up to six months in prison and a $2,000 fine, prosecutors said.
