Gallery owner who hosed homeless woman in San Francisco arrested - BBC

An San Francisco creation assemblage proprietor who sprayed a stateless pistillate with a hose has been arrested, constabulary person said.

Collier Gwin, 71, has been charged with misdemeanour battery, aft a video of him spraying the pistillate extracurricular his assemblage connected 9 January caused outrage.

He faces up to six months successful situation and a $2,000 (£1,600) fine, the city's territory lawyer said.

Mr Gwin has since apologised for his actions, describing them arsenic indefensible.

In the clip which went viral online, helium was seen lasting extracurricular his business, directing the watercourse of h2o straight onto the pistillate sitting connected the pavement extracurricular for respective seconds - yet stopping to archer her to determination away.

Among those who expressed outrage astatine the video was the city's politician London Breed, who said past week it reminded her of however constabulary treated civilian rights protesters during the 1960s.

One section man, Alex Sakiyama, told San Francisco quality presumption ABC7 helium felt the incidental was "really disturbing", adding that the pistillate sleeps unsmooth successful the section country and tin often beryllium heard screaming astatine night.

"I deliberation it's not good nary substance however bothered you are successful immoderate fixed situation. I deliberation it's not good to spray h2o astatine someone," helium said.

Announcing the charge, San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins said: "The alleged artillery of an unhoused subordinate of our assemblage is wholly unacceptable. Mr Gwin volition look due consequences for his actions."

But she besides noted that "the vandalism astatine Foster Gwin assemblage is besides wholly unacceptable and indispensable halt - 2 wrongs don't marque a right".

San Francisco Police primitively responded to the incidental connected Montgomery Street successful the city's Financial District astir midday section clip connected 9 January, but said some Mr Gwin and the pistillate "declined further constabulary enactment astatine that time", the unit said.

But the probe was aboriginal handed implicit to the the force's Street Crisis Response Team, who investigated the incidental further and requested an apprehension warrant from the territory attorney.

Speaking to section vigor presumption KPIX past week, Mr Gwin said: "I'm very, precise sorry, I'm not going to support myself, I'm not going to, due to the fact that I can't support that."

He told the presumption the incidental had happened aft trying to get the pistillate help, letting her slumber successful his doorway for days and cleaning up aft her.

Mr Gwin added helium and different section concern owners had antecedently called constabulary and societal services much than 20 times implicit 2 weeks.