Collier Gwin, the owner of the gallery, was arrested after spraying a homeless woman with a garden hose because, according to him, she wouldn’t leave the sidewalk he was cleaning.
Gwin has spent 45 years residing in San Francisco. He claimed that after spending days cleaning up her mess and letting her sleep in his doorway, this confrontation resulted from numerous attempts to get the woman’s assistance.
She frequently topples trash cans, he continued, and his clients have fled due to her actions.
Gwin claimed that over the past two weeks, he and other local business owners have called the SFPD and social services more than two dozen times. The woman has begun receiving assistance from the San Francisco Department of Public Health since the incident.
Collier Gwin Arrested For Spraying Homeless Woman
KPIX was there when Gwin was arrested and put into an SFPD car outside his gallery on the 700 block of Montgomery Street in San Francisco on Wednesday at around 3:30 pm.
Gwin’s use of a hose to spray the woman sparked outrage for the entire previous week. A video that showed the proprietor and operator of Foster Gwin Gallery spraying the homeless woman with a garden hose late on Monday morning in the city’s Financial District went viral.
On Monday, Gwin declared that he’d had enough. He admitted that he had spent forty years there. He has encountered many homeless people, helped those who needed it, and has never encountered any interpersonal difficulties.
But in this instance, he was very upset that the city was powerless to intervene and that their hands were also tied.
Where Is Art Gallery Owner Now?
After the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office issued an arrest warrant for misdemeanor battery in connection with the gallery owner spraying an unhoused woman with a hose last week, Collier Gwin was taken into Police custody on Wednesday.
The San Francisco District Attorney’s Office issued a press release Wednesday afternoon, and DA Brooke Jenkins tweeted about the warrant. Gwin will reportedly be charged with misdemeanor battery for allegedly intentionally and unlawfully spraying water on and around a homeless woman.
Business owners expressed strong opinions about the incident in the area, and some of them seemed surprised to learn that an arrest warrant had been issued. Most people opted not to comment.
Collier Gwin Charges: Is He Going To Jail?
If found guilty, Gwin could spend up to six months in county jail and pay a $2,000 fine, according to the DA’s office. According to a statement from the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office, the alleged battery of a member of their community without housing is wholly unacceptable. Mr. Gwin will be held accountable for his actions in the proper manner.
London Breed, the mayor of San Francisco, said on Friday that the incident made her think of how the Police handled civil rights protesters in the 1960s.
Additionally, the press release stated that the vandalism at the Foster Gwin Gallery must stop because two wrongs do not equal a right. Gwin has apologized numerous times since the controversy surrounding the incident.