San Francisco Gallery Owner Arrested For Battery After Viral Video Shows Him Spraying Homeless Woman With Water Hose
Jan. 19 2023, Published 3:30 p.m. ET
A San Francisco, California, gallery shop owner caused viral outrage when a video circulated showing him spraying a homeless woman with a water hose outside of his shop. The man has now been arrested on battery charges, RadarOnline.com has learned.
Collier Gwin, the owner of Foster Gwin art gallery in the financial district, claimed he was only trying to "help" the woman when he dosed her with water on January 9 when temperatures had dipped in the 40s.
Gwin was arrested at his art gallery around 3 PM on Wednesday, exactly 9 days since the now-viral incident, according to the Daily Mail.
While the unhoused woman seen in the video did not personally pursue charges against Gwin, San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins released a statement on the city's decision to charge the store owner.
"The alleged battery of an unhoused member of our community is completely unacceptable," Jenkins said of the viral video. "Mr. Gwin will face appropriate consequences for his actions."
If convicted, Gwin could face up to six months at the county jail and a $2,000 fine.
The gallery owner's problems were not contained to legal issues. The now easily recognizable gallery has been vandalized amid backlash from critics.
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Prior to his arrest, Gwin's shop had its front door smashed in by rebels who were outraged over his actions in the video.
"The vandalism at Foster Gwin gallery is also completely unacceptable and must stop," said DA Jenkins on citizens harassing the store and its owner. "Two wrongs don't make a right."
Online sleuths, who quickly identified Gwin's gallery from the seconds-long clip, also left reviews of the art gallery online, which tanked its Google score to one star.
Gwin denied that he used the water hose against the homeless woman maliciously, claiming he had previously attempted to help her get back on her feet to no avail.
"I've been here for 40 years," Gwin told the San Francisco Chronicle. "We have tons of homeless [people]. But they haven't been in a situation where they get that violent [within] 10 days of the neighborhood trying to do something."
Gwin added that when some unhoused persons were allegedly helped by being taken to a homeless shelter, "they leave immediately."
The gallery owner also claimed that he asked the woman to move while he cleaned the sidewalk and she became "belligerent."
"She starts screaming belligerent things, spitting, yelling at me... at that point she was so out of control... I spray her with the hose and say, "Move, move. I will help you," Gwin continued.
"You know, spraying her's not the solution, but spraying her was something that woke her up, and that calmed her down," the gallery owner added. "So am I sorry? I'm only sorry that... my way of helping her countlessly has gotten nothing done."