By David M. Greenwald
Executive Editor
San Francisco, CA – It was a video that went viral. A San Francisco art gallery owner was seen using a hose to spray a homeless woman in front of his business.
On Wednesday, San Francisco DA filed formal charges against the owner, Collier Gwin.
According to a release, “Following the San Francisco Police Department’s investigation and reviewing all the evidence provided, my office has issued an arrest warrant for Collier Gwin. Gwin will be charged with misdemeanor battery for the alleged intentional and unlawful spraying of water on and around a woman experiencing homelessness on January 9, 2023.”
Jenkins said, “The alleged battery of an unhoused member of our community is completely unacceptable. Mr. Gwin will face appropriate consequences for his actions.”
She added “the vandalism at Foster Gwin gallery is also completely unacceptable and must stop—two wrongs do not make a right. “
The polarized nature of San Francisco has been on display since the video came out.
One commenter noted, “I mean it gets old when literally every store you try and go to has a homeless person right there loitering next to the door just waiting to bother and bombard anyone who walks in.”
Another added, “They don’t want help. They need to open up all the State Hospitals again.”
Jenkins who was appointed and then elected in part in response to perceptions of lawlessness in San Francisco, was met with pushback for her decision.
One commenter on Twitter said, “I’ll help pay his bail. This is ridiculous.” They added, “He tried to help the woman multiple times prior.”
Another said, “Disgusting – very disappointed in you.”
Another added, “I’m ashamed to live in this city. This woman was left on the street in the pouring rain for days, probably attacked multiple times on the streets. And you think the problem is a fed up business person who lost his temper at this horrendous reality created by the city of SF?”
Although the victim did not seek to file charges in this case, the evidence gathered was sufficient to proceed with charging the conduct. The DA’s office issued the arrest warrant in this case.
If convicted Gwin faces up to six months in county jail and a $2000 fine.
According to a demographic survey that was done as part of the UCI Cost Study, there were three top reasons why people became homeless. The top two causes were finding a job that paid a sustainable wage, and finding housing that’s affordable. Over 75 percent cited these issues as what caused them to fall into homelessness. The third reported cause of people’s homelessness was family issues, which encompassed events like death of a family member, divorce, or abuse. The findings from this study correlate with similar studies across the nation in finding that these are the top causes of people’s homelessness.
For the clear minority that do suffer from mental illness, reopening the state hospitals would cost hundreds of millions of dollars per year.