An art gallery owner in San Francisco is facing charges after footage of him hosing down an unhoused woman went viral.
The video, which was posted to social media last week, showed Collier Gwin, owner of Foster Gwin Gallery, using a garden hose to spray a woman sitting on a nearby sidewalk.
On Wednesday, San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins announced that her office has issued an arrest warrant for Gwin.
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“Gwin is charged w/ misdemeanor battery for the alleged intentional & unlawful spraying of water on & around a woman experiencing homelessness on 1/9/22,” she added (Jenkins later clarified that the incident occurred on 1/9/23).
She continued, “The alleged battery of an unhoused member of our community is completely unacceptable. Mr. Gwin will face appropriate consequences for his actions.”
She went on to condemn the vandalism of Gwin’s gallery, stating it “is also completely unacceptable and must stop – two wrongs do not make a right.”
If convicted, Gwin could face up to six months in county jail. He could also be ordered to pay a $2,000 fine, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
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Gwin did not immediately respond to PEOPLE when contacted by phone after the video first surfaced. He told NBC affiliate KNTV that he’s called police and social services regarding the woman, who, he says, can be disruptive.
“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 an interview with ABC affiliate KGO-TV Gwin said in the moments before the video was filmed, he tried to help her move her belongings down the street and sprayed her with water when she refused.
“I totally understand what an awful thing that is to do, but I also understand what an awful thing it is to leave her on the streets,” he told the outlet.
“This woman is a very, very sad situation,” he continued. “She’s very psychotic.”
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In a statement to CBS affiliate KPIX, San Francisco police said both parties declined further police action, and the “San Francisco Street Crisis Response Team responded to the scene and provided multiple service options” to the woman.
