A San Francisco art gallery owner sparked outrage on social media after a viral video showed himspraying water from a hose on a homeless woman. However, the gallery owner expressed no remorse.
The Tik Tok account of San Francisco bakery Brioche S.F. posted a video Monday of Collier Gwin, owner and operator of Foster Gwin Gallery on Montgomery Street in the city's Financial District, nonchalantly spraying a homeless woman that morning while she was sitting down in front of the Barbarossa Lounge, Gwin's neighbor.
The bakery noted that given the weather conditions, the man's actions appeared especially cruel. "It was cold and raining. She was screaming saying 'ok I'll move I'll move!' It's not fair to see people doing stuff like that."
Gwin immediately drew criticism online after the video went viral, prompting the Foster Gwin Gallery to shut down all online presence and the Barbarossa Lounge to deny any involvement.
Gwin Defends His Actions, Says He Hosed Down the Woman as 'Last Resort'
However, in interviews with the press, Gwin expressed no remorse for his actions, saying he'd do it again. Gwin told the Chronicle that he had been letting the woman sleep in his doorway for days and was speaking with the city about getting her assistance. He claimed that he started spraying her with the hose after she refused to leave and became belligerent.
"We called the police," Gwin told ABC7. "There must be at least 25 calls to police. It's two days in a homeless shelter, it's two days in jail, and then they drop them right back on the street."
Monday, when Gwin says she refused to move and resisted his help in moving her belongings down the street, he sprayed her down as a last resort.
Barbarossa Lounge owner Arash Ghanadan confirmed details from Gwin's statement – that the woman had been posted there for days and local business owners had been trying to get her assistance from the city – but he disagreed on how to treat her.
"I do want people to know that definitely what you see on the video is not the appropriate way to handle it," Ghanadan told the SF Gate. "We certainly condemn that."
It's unclear what happened to the woman who Gwin sprayed, but commenters have noted that Gwin could be charged with assault under state law.
