The art gallery owner who was filmed last week hosing down a homeless woman sitting on the sidewalk was finally arrested by San Francisco police on Wednesday afternoon.
• Also read: Video of man hosing down homeless man on street sparks outrage
“The attack by a member of our homeless community is totally unacceptable,” San Francisco Attorney General Brooke Jenkins tweeted.
His office has agreed to issue a warrant for Collier Gwin’s arrest.
If convicted, Collier Gwin faces a maximum of six months in prison and a $2,000 fine, prosecutors said.
The alleged battery of an unaccommodated member of our community is totally unacceptable. Mr Gwin will face appropriate consequences for his actions. Likewise, the vandalism at the Foster Gwin Gallery is totally unacceptable and must stop – two mistakes make no mistake.
— Brooke Jenkins 謝安宜 (@BrookeJenkinsSF) January 19, 2023
A disturbing video
Since the video was released, the homeless man, known as “Q” in the neighborhood where the incident occurred, has received help from the San Francisco Department of Public Health, according to CBS San Francisco.
On January 9, Collier Gwin was filmed hosing down a woman who had settled near his art gallery in San Francisco’s Financial District.
The video quickly went viral and was viewed millions of times in just a few hours. A wave of outrage ensued across the country and elsewhere in the world.
In an interview with the San Francisco Chronicle, Collier Gwin defended herself, saying the homeless person refused to leave the location and threw trash on the sidewalk.
The man claims he let the lady sleep in his driveway for several days and called social services to help her.
“Am I sorry? I’m just sorry that my way of helping him in myriad ways didn’t work,” he said.
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