A business owner who sprayed a homeless woman could be looking at a prison sentence for his actions.
A San Fransisco gallery owner has been facing backlash after a video of him spraying a homeless woman sitting on the edge of a sidewalk with a hose recently went viral.
The footage, which was posted to both Twitter and TikTok on Monday, shows Collier Gwin leaning against a rail while using water from a hose to blast the woman in a controversial attempt to get her to vacate the area.
In the clip, you can hear the woman shouting while Gwin points a finger at her and sternly tells her to "move."
"This is horrible," one Twitter user who shared the footage wrote. "This awful man is spraying a homeless woman down with a hose. You can hear her yell, 'Help Me!' Does anyone recognize him? ... This is inhumane and inexcusable."
Since it was posted, the video has been viewed over 4.7 million times and has received widespread condemnation, especially since San Fransisco, and more widely, the entire state of California has seen a dramatic rise in homelessness over the past few years which was further escalated by the pandemic in 2020.
During a speech at the local town hall, Rev Amos Brown, of the Third Baptist church said that it was a disturbing reminder of history.
"It took us back to the days that when in Birmingham Alabama that sheriff hosed down civil rights workers back in the 60s," he said, as per the Guardian.
At the time the incident went viral, Gwin was seemingly unremorseful as he spoke to NBC affiliate KNTV, labeling the victim as "psychotic."
"The whole neighborhood is a part of this situation," Gwin told the news station. "The police force is a part of this situation. The city and the social services is a part of the situation. There have been repeated attempts to try to help this woman who is psychotic.
"There's absolutely nothing that can be done. They'll take her to a shelter, and they will turn her out in two days," he added. "They will take her to the hospital, they will release her within a day."
In a recent update, it has been reported that Gwin has now been taken into custody and is potentially looking at facing a sentence for battery.
The San Francisco police department released a statement on Facebook saying that they were initially called to an incident "regarding a possible assault."
Just days later, they added: "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 (242 PC)."
The statement added that while an arrest had been made, "this remains an open and active investigation" before urging anyone with further information regarding the incident to come forward.
Since the incident, Gwin has allegedly closed the gallery and taken down its social media accounts too after the video apparently prompted some viewers to leave negative reviews, with some even going as far as vandalizing his building.
"Mr Gwin will face appropriate consequences for his actions," San Francisco’s district attorney, Brooke 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."
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