Art gallery owner who hosed down homeless woman lying outside claims she was being 'violent'

11 January 2023, 16:11

A San Fransisco art gallery owner who was filmed blasting a homeless woman with water to force her to move to another place has claimed the woman was being violent.

Collier Gwin said that locals had been trying to get help for the woman he sprayed for ten days, and that he had been a "champion" of these efforts.

"I've been here for 40 years. We have tons of homeless [people]. But they haven't been in a situation where they get that violent [within] ten days of the neighbourhood trying to do something.

"We have been able to get them taken to a shelter, which they leave immediately."

The footage shows the woman screaming as Mr Gwin douses her with his hose in the cold and rainy weather and repeatedly screams "move".

The owner of the Foster Gwin Gallery, in the upmarket Jackson Square neighbourhood, admitted to spraying the woman but did not apologise.

Describing Monday's confrontation, he said the woman often behaved erratically and had a tendency to leave her belongings on the pavement.

He says he resorted to hosing the woman down after she turned over some rubbish bins outside the gallery and refused to move.

He told local paper the San Francisco Chronicle: "I said you have to move, I cannot clean the street, move down. 

"She starts screaming belligerent things, spitting, yelling at me... at that point she was so out of control... I spray her with the hose and say, 'Move, move. I will help you.'"

Despite the video getting millions of views, Mr Gwin refused to back down. He said: "You know, spraying her's not the solution, but spraying her was something that woke her up, and that calmed her down. 

"So am I sorry? I'm only sorry that... my way of helping her countlessly has gotten nothing done."

The gallery owner referred to himself as a "champion" who let her sleep in his entryway for multiple days, and says he called police and social services for help to no avail.

“You know, spraying her’s not the solution, but spraying her was something that woke her up, and that calmed her down,” he said. “So am I sorry? I’m only sorry that... my way of helping her countlessly has gotten nothing done.”

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The video was taken by Edson Garcia, head chef at bakery Brioche S.F, who says that while he's sometimes asked the woman to stop blocking her doorway, he's never seen her acting belligerently.

"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," he told ABC7 News.

Google Reviews for Foster Gwin Gallery have plummeted to an average of 1.1 stars, with one user writing: "I tend to avoid galleries whose owners hose down elderly homeless women in the cold."

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The owners of Barbarossa Lounge, which is next to the gallery and is clearly shown in the video, released a statement condemning Mr Gwin's actions and saying they have nothing to do with him.

They said: "Barbarossa is in no way associated with the inhumane actions portrayed in the video. Upon investigation it appears the actions are those of a neighboring business owner.

"We are extremely disappointed in this individual's behavior and in no way support such actions. We have been informed that further formal and media investigation is underway.

"Barbarossa strives to support our local community and treat all passerby and patrons with equal respect and dignity."

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San Fransisco Board of Supervisors President Aaron Peskin said: “I don’t care how frustrated somebody is, this is not the way human beings treat other human beings... It’s unconscionable, it’s abuse.”

He said his office has been trying for months to get the woman support and said the community won't tolerate "vigilante" attacks.

In a statement, the American Civil Liberties Union and the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights suggested homelessness policies in the city encourage this sort of behaviour against rough sleepers.

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The lawyers said: “Violence like this assault occurs in the context of government, societal, and press participation in scapegoating unhoused residents and treating them as though they are objects to be swept, jailed, and harassed.”

Police said they interviewed both Mr Gwin and the woman and that they declined “further police action.” Officers are still investigating the incident.