The owner of a San Francisco art gallery who was caught on video spraying a homeless woman on the sidewalk with water from a garden hose has been arrested and charged with misdemeanor battery in the incident.
Video of the encounter was posted to the Internet and went viral. As Breitbart News reported last week:
A San Francisco art gallery owner was caught on video spraying a homeless woman with a garden hose on the street in front of his storefront because she would not move down the street — and she was later hospitalized.
Debate raged online about whether the man was justified …
San Francisco has suffered an exodus of businesses due to crime, open-air drug use, the growth of a large homeless population, and the availability of work-from-home options for many workers in the tech industry.
Police have now acted, the Los Angeles Times reported, after the man publicly admitted his actions:
Collier Gwin, 71, faces a charge of misdemeanor battery after being accused of intentionally and unlawfully spraying water on a woman who was sitting on a sidewalk outside his gallery, according to the San Francisco district attorney’s office, which said it issued an arrest warrant for Gwin after reviewing the evidence from a police investigation.
Gwin was arrested at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday and was booked at a county jail on the arrest warrant. The case remains an open investigation, police said in a statement.
…
If convicted, Gwin could face up to six months in county jail and a $2,000 fine, prosecutors said.
The art gallery had publicly apologized for the incident earlier this week, the San Francisco Chronicle noted.
Hellbound and Down 