A San Francisco art gallery owner has been arrested after a video of him spraying a homeless black woman went viral last week.
Collier Gwin was arrested Wednesday on a battery charge, according to the San Francisco Police Department. He is faces up to six months in jail and a $2,000 fine if found guilty.
The 71-year-old gallery owner faced backlash after the video went viral of the incident on Jan. 9. It showed him spraying the homeless woman with a water hose as she sat on a sidewalk in front of the gallery.
The homeless woman goes by the name of “Q,” and she has been known to frequent the block where Gwin’s gallery is located. She allegedly has mental health issues. Q was hospitalized after the incident, but the reason is unclear, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
The woman refused to press charges, but District Attorney Brooke Jenkins said there was enough evidence for the police to pursue charges.
“The alleged battery of an unhoused member of our community is completely unacceptable. Mr. Gwin will face appropriate consequences for his actions,” Jenkins said in a statement. “Likewise, the vandalism at Foster Gwin gallery is also completely unacceptable and must stop – two wrongs do not make a right.”
“On January 18, 2023, at approximately 3:30 p.m., Gwin was arrested on the 700 block of Montgomery Street for the warrant. Gwin was transported to the San Francisco County Jail where he was booked for the arrest warrant on the charge of battery,” said the San Francisco police in a statement to local media.
Gwin initially refused to apologize for his actions before reversing course and issuing an apology.
“What they saw is very regrettable. I feel awful, not just because I want to get out of trouble…but because I’d put a tremendous amount of effort into helping this woman,” Gwin told KPIX TV.
These comments came after the gallery owner received death threats and his gallery was vandalized. He has also been confronted face-to-face by local people.
“I want you to shut down, and I want you to move away because you treated somebody inhumanely,” an unidentified man said to Gwin in front of the gallery as local station KPIX’s cameras were rolling on Jan. 10. “Anybody who treats another human being like trash or an animal doesn’t deserve to be here.”
Jenkins condemned the vandalism on Wednesday, also saying, “Mr. Gwin will face appropriate consequences for his actions.”
“The vandalism at Foster Gwin gallery is also completely unacceptable and must stop,’ the DA wrote. “Two wrongs don’t make a right.”
San Francisco Mayor London Breed stated, “There should be frustration. When I saw it, all I could think about is what happened during the civil rights movement, at a time where African-Americans were fighting for their rights to be seen as equals in this country. Law enforcement used water hoses to stop protestors, and that video took us back to those times.”
Gwin told ABC 7 News that there were repeated attempts to help the woman in the past couple of weeks and other business owners complained about her as well. He also stated that the police reports didn’t help.
Local citizens are calling for city officials to step in on the homeless woman’s behalf. The only option available is for her to be apart of the conservatorship program in California. The program allows a court-appointed conservator to compel care only if someone is “gravely disabled” or cannot care for themselves. It is noted that those who are conserved can be stripped of their civil rights.
