A video of an art gallery owner abusing a homeless person has made its rounds on social media, ultimately leading to the man’s arrest. Identified as Collier Gwin, the 71-year-old man was arrested Wednesday after San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins issued a misdemeanor battery arrest warrant, the Los Angeles Times reported.
While the victim did not seek to file charges, evidence gathered by the district attorney was sufficient to proceed with charging Gwin with misdemeanor battery for intentionally and unlawfully spraying water on a woman who was sitting on a sidewalk outside of his gallery, the District Attorney's Office said.
At this time the case remains an open investigation, police said in a statement. If convicted, Gwin faces up to six months in county jail and a $2,000 fine.
According to ABC News, initially after the incident Gwin did not apologize, but days later as the video went viral he seemed to show remorse for what he had done. Whether he is sincere or not about his apology is unclear, but the outrage towards his actions is valid.
“I know it’s very hard to watch. I can only ask others to maybe better understand my breaking point,” Gwin told ABC News. “I have the video to constantly remind me that this is a large cross to bear.”
The video footage from the Jan. 9 incident depicts Gwin leaning against a fence, one leg crossed over the other, spraying a homeless woman with a hose while she sits outside his business.
The woman tries to block the water and says something, but her words are inaudible. Gwin then stops spraying and can he heard saying: “Hey, just move. Move. Move. Move. Okay, are you going to move? Are you going to move?”
The video posted to Twitter and TikTok quickly went viral, with people urging police to investigate the incident.
According to the San Francisco Chronicle, the woman, known to providers of services to San Francisco’s unhoused population and officials as “Q,” was hospitalized last week. It is unclear what she is being treated for.
Several people in the area told ABC News that while they acknowledge there is a problem with housing insecurity in San Francisco, the way Gwin handled the situation was inappropriate.
According to witnesses, a man who seemed to appear intoxicated set up outside of Gwin’s gallery door, which sparked the incident.
"It got messy. She was messy. There was food all over the sidewalk, a big mess and she screamed a lot and we could hear it in the building. It was tough, that woman needs help," another woman who lives nearby told ABC News.
According to KRON, Gwin’s gallery was vandalized a few days after the video went viral.