San Francisco gallerist who hose-sprayed homeless has been arrested and charged with battery

The man who sprayed a homeless man with a hose outside his San Francisco store has been arrested and charged with assault after a massive public outcry.

Collier Gwin, 71, can be seen in the video posted to TikTok arguing with the homeless man before spraying the person with a water hose on January 9. He owns an antique gallery in the Financial District.

Homeless advocates angered Gwin and urged law enforcement to charge the man to discourage others from mistreating the homeless. Jennifer Friedenbach, executive director of the Coalition on Homelessness, told KNTV-TV that the homeless man’s name is Q.

“We’re talking about a black trans homeless person who also has mental health issues,” she said.

On Wednesday, after nine days of outrage, Gwin was arrested and booked to the San Francisco County Jail on $2,500 bail.

He had previously defended his actions in an interview with KNTV by saying that the homeless person was mentally ill and that the police could not solve the problem.

“There’s absolutely nothing you can do about it. They take her to a shelter and they take her out in two days,” he said at the time. “They will take her to the hospital. They will release her within a day.”

He also said he received threats about the video.

Some critics directed their ire at the wrong deal because the video featured the name of a restaurant called the Barbarossa Lounge, which is next door to Gwin’s studio. The lounge owner clarified that he had nothing to do with the water incident.

District Attorney Brooke Jenkins tweeted about the charges against Gwin.

“The alleged battery of an unaccommodated member of our community is totally unacceptable. Mr. Gwin will face appropriate consequences for his actions,” she tweeted.

“Similarly, the vandalism at the Foster Gwin gallery is totally unacceptable and must stop – two mistakes make no mistake,” she concluded.

Here’s more about the arrest of the business owner:

Business owner arrested in San Francisco after being caught spraying a homeless person with a hosewww.youtube.com

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