SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) — There are fallout from video showing an art gallery owner watering down a homeless person on a San Francisco street. An investigation has been launched and that’s not all, the video has gone viral.
This video shows art gallery owner Collier Gwin in North Beach, San Francisco spraying a homeless person.
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During the night, the art gallery of the man with the hose was vandalized.
Now the head of the San Francisco chapter of the NAACP is weighing in, saying race cannot be ignored, as Gwin is white and the homeless person, who identifies as male, is black.
“No, I don’t think if they were a white person that person would have been treated that way,” said Dr. Anthony Brown.
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Dr. Brown also says that what happened is unacceptable and that the city must come together to address homelessness.
The incident was discussed at a San Francisco Police Commission meeting Wednesday night. No arrests have been made, but police confirm the incident is under investigation and will later be reported to the district attorney.
“Isn’t the police department going to arrest the gentleman for that?” said a police commissioner.
“Not without a warrant,” Police Chief Bill Scott said.
“Is the police department looking for an arrest warrant?” said the commissioner.
“We’ll take that up for review and see what happens with the district attorney,” Scott said.
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Jacqui Berlinn of Mothers Against Drug Deaths has a son living on the streets of San Francisco and says they even fought when it came to getting help for her son.
“People aren’t getting things done, they’re not communicating well with each other. Police need to communicate with nonprofits and nonprofits need to communicate with supervisors and that’s not what’s happening in this So it’s not a good situation at all,” Berlinn said.
Dr. Brown says he’s not looking for an arrest, but wants this to be a teachable moment for the hoseman and the town.
“That took me back to the days in Birmingham, Alabama Bull Connor scolded civil rights activists and we should be able in a civilized society to deal with things in a legal and peaceful way,” Brown said.
“That video absolutely shows the frustration of the citizens of San Francisco, but it also shows the vulnerability of these people living on the streets, to be hosed down when it’s so incredibly cold outside, it’s inhumane,” Berlinn said.
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