The San Francisco antiques dealer whose gallery was vandalized and reported online after a viral video showed him spraying a homeless woman with a water hose was arrested Wednesday and charged with assault, authorities said.
The man, Collier Gwin, 71, was arrested on a misdemeanor assault charge, police said. He was booked into the San Francisco County Jail Wednesday afternoon, where he was being held on $2,500 bond, according to jail records. No date has been set for the hearing.
A nearby business owner recorded video of Gwin spraying the woman on the sidewalk in front of the Foster Gwin Gallery on January 9.
Gwin told NBC Bay Area at the time he had called the police and city social services frequently in the past after the woman became disruptive. Police have not publicly identified the woman.
“There is absolutely nothing that can be done. They will take her to a shelter and take her out in two days,” she said at the time. “They will take her to the hospital. They will release her within a day.”
The video sparked national controversy and led, authorities said, to vandalism at the gallery. Suspended Yelp Reviews from the gallery the day after the incident as damning reviews poured in.
“The alleged assault on a homeless member of our community is completely unacceptable. Mr. Gwin will face the appropriate consequences for his actions,” District Attorney Brooke Jenkins said. said Wednesday in a statement on Twitter. “Similarly, the vandalism of the Foster Gwin Gallery is also completely unacceptable and must stop – two wrongs don’t make a right.”
Jail records did not list an attorney who could speak for Gwin Wednesday night. The gallery website was not working and displayed the message: “This site is currently undergoing scheduled maintenance. We will be back soon!»
The gallery «specializes in abstract expressionist paintings and sculpture from San Francisco from the late 1940s through the 1960s,» according to a 2018 article in the Nob Hill Gazette. His clients include former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger; the late banker David Rockefeller; former baseball player Ichiro Suzuki; Gregg Popovich, president and head coach of the San Antonio Spurs; and Joe Lacob, majority owner of the Golden State Warriors, according to the magazine.
Minyvonne Burke contributed.