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A business owner who went viral after he was filmed spraying down a homeless woman with a hose in front of his San Francisco store has been arrested for battery, hours after the city’s DA said he would face charges for the widely seen incident.
Collier Gwin, the owner of Foster Gwin art gallery, is currently being held on the misdemeanor charge stemming from the January 9 altercation, police said Wednesday following his arrest.
Earlier in the day, the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office issued a statement announcing that a warrant for Gwin’s arrest had been issued, following pronounced public outcry over the footage, which was filmed on a day where temperatures hit 49 degrees.
The video posted on social media spurred sleuths to search for and successfully identify the gallery owner, and served as enough evidence to charge Gwin, officials said following his arrest Wednesday evening.
If convicted for the offense, Gwin could face up to six months in county jail – as well as a $2,000 fine.
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A business owner who went viral after he was filmed spraying down a homeless woman with a hose in front of his San Francisco store has been arrested for battery, hours after the city’s DA said he would face charges for the widely seen incident
‘The alleged battery of an unhoused member of our community is completely unacceptable,’ San Francisco DA Brooke Jenkins said, referencing footage that showed the store owner nonchalantly dousing the the unnamed woman with a stream of water.
Jenkins went on to reveal that the victim did not seek to file charges against the store owner – who stood by his actions in interviews with various news outlets in recent days, saying that when he asked the woman to move, she became belligerent and refused.
Nonetheless, Jenkins said Wednesday, ‘Mr. Gwin will face appropriate consequences for his actions.’
The state prosecutor – who has come under fire for soft-on-crime policies in a city experiencing crime and homeless rates not seen since the 90s – went on to chide citizens who have vandalized Gwin’s store, which had its door smashed in as the footage spread across social media.
Pictured: Collier Gwin, who runs Foster Gwin Gallery in the Financial District. He was arrested at 3pm on Wednesday at his gallery after the city’s DA issued a warrant for his arrest
Jenkins – who has been criticized for soft on crime polices in the past – revealed the victim did not seek to file charges against the store owner – who stood by his actions in interviews with various news outlets in recent days
‘The vandalism at Foster Gwin gallery is also completely unacceptable and must stop,’ the DA wrote, before telling citizens in the homeless encampment-filled city, ‘Two wrongs don’t make a right.’
Records show that Gwin was arrested around 3:30 pm at or near his gallery. In recent days, as arm chair sleuths zeroed in on the store owner, Gwin made it clear he was not hiding from anyone.
But even after issuing explanations to outlets including The San Francisco Chronicle and ABC 7, other local businesses condemned his actions, while scores of enraged social media users left dreadful reviews online – causing the gallery’s rating on Google to plunge to just one star.
Discussing the incident earlier this week, an unapologetic Gwin cited the city’s widely reported homeless situation as an inciting factor for the incident.
‘I’ve been here for 40 years,’ Gwin told The 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.
‘We have been able to get them taken to a shelter, which they leave immediately.’
Earlier in the day, the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office issued a statement announcing that a warrant for Gwin’s arrest had been issued, following pronounced public outcry over the footage, which was filmed on a day where temperatures hit 49 degrees
The reporter in the video said: ‘I’ve listened to her talk to the people and saying, “No, this is the way I want to live. My idea of cleanliness is not your idea of cleanliness.”‘
Gwin replied: ‘That’s fine, as long as she knows what she’s saying.’
After admitting to being the man in the hosepipe video, Gwin claimed the woman had become psychotic and was turning over garbage cans.
‘I said you have to move, I cannot clean the street, move down,’ Gwin told The San Francisco Chronicle.
Gwin has insisted that he is not sorry for his actions and was trying to ‘help’ her. He said the woman had been staying in front of his gallery for days
‘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.”‘
He also noted that he has previously been a ‘champion’ for trying to help her.
The chef of Brioche Cafe, who captured the video, said he saw the scene unfold while making an early morning delivery around 6am.
‘I was shocked,’ Edson Garcia told The Chronicle. ‘I know that lady.’
The video has since amassed millions of views. But despite the widespread backlash, Gwin stuck by his actions.
‘You know, spraying her’s not the solution, but spraying her was something that woke her up, and that calmed her down,’ Gwin said.
‘So am I sorry? I’m only sorry that… my way of helping her countlessly has gotten nothing done.’
Gwin added that before the incident he had allowed her to stay on the sidewalk for days and attempted to call the police and other government services to get her help.
His art gallery has been running since 1984 and has brought in A-list clients, such as Arnold Schwarzenegger, according to SocketSite.
The gallery shares a wall with a restaurant called Barbarossa Lounge, which is where Gwin was seen leaning against a gate in the video.
The gallery shares a wall with a restaurant called Barbarossa Lounge, which is where Gwin was seen leaning against a gate in the video. Gwin is not associated with the restaurant
Internet sleuths seeking to identify the perpetrator had at first assumed Gwin was associated with the restaurant. But owner Arash Ghanadan debunked the claim as mountains of hate messages flooded in.
‘Barbarossa Lounge has been made aware of a video that has begun to circulate on social media, which was filmed outside of our small business,’ Ghanadan told DailyMail.com.
‘We are extremely disappointed in this individual’s behavior and in no way support such actions. We have been informed that further formal and media investigation is underway.’
Ghanadan added: ‘It’s been a hard time for our business in the past three years with a pandemic. We barely survived that and now our reputation is being ruined by a video that everyone is falsely assuming relates to our business.’
Rows of homeless tents are seen near the City Hall of San Francisco outside residential properties and small business premises earlier this year
About 8,000 homeless people were reported in the city in February
The video comes amid a growing homelessness crisis in the city. The number of homeless people in San Francisco was tallied in February at almost 8,000, the second highest figure of any year since 2005, according to the official government count which takes place every three years.
Business owners in San Francisco’s Castro neighborhood have threatened to stop paying taxes if politicians don’t start cleaning up streets of litter and stopping people from openly taking drugs.
In a letter to city officials in August, The Castro Merchants Association said some of the homeless people in the streets outside their stores had been harassing customers and needed help.
‘They need shelter and/or services and they need them immediately,’ the Merchants Association said.
‘Our community is struggling to recover from lost business revenue, from burglaries and never-ending vandalism/graffiti (often committed by unhoused persons) and we implore you to take action.’
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