Art gallery owner arrested for hosing homeless woman in US city of San Francisco

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON (AA) - Art gallery owner Collier Gwin has been taken into police custody on charges related to turning a hose on an unhoused woman in the US city of San Francisco.

Brooke Jenkins, the city's district attorney, confirmed on Wednesday that she issued a warrant for Gwin's arrest, saying Gwin faces a charge of misdemeanor battery for allegedly spraying a homeless woman.

"The alleged battery of an unhoused member of our community is completely unacceptable. Mr. Gwin will face appropriate consequences for his actions," Jenkins said in a statement on Wednesday. "Likewise, the vandalism at Foster Gwin gallery is also completely unacceptable and must stop - two wrongs do not make a right."

Gwin faces up to six months in county jail and a $2,000 fine if found guilty.

Gwin was arrested on Wednesday, and released on $2,500 bail. He is next expected in court on Feb. 17.

The incident in question happened on Jan. 9, and was captured on bystander video that appears to depict Gwin using a hose on a homeless woman, soaking her with water as she sat on the pavement outside of his gallery. The footage has since gone viral.

Gwin has since apologized, saying in an interview with a local ABC television affiliated that he is "deeply apologetic and abhorred when I watched that video."