A video showing a man in San Francisco mercilessly spraying water on a homeless woman when temperatures in the region dipped to 9 degrees Celcius is doing the rounds on social media, leaving netizens infuriated.
The man, known as Collier Gwin, owns an art gallery. He has acknowledged his wrongdoing but refrained from apologising. Social media users slammed his behaviour and demanded that “cruel” Mr Gwin be punished for directly spraying water on the woman’s face with a water hose.
San Francisco pic.twitter.com/n6XU5CMvQa
— Clown World ™ ? (@ClownWorld_) January 10, 2023
The footage was taken by Edson Garcia, a local cafe’s co-owner. He told the news organisation, “I turned to the side and saw the guy pouring water on the lady. He went on to say that the homeless woman was yelling, saying she’ll move, but he continued spraying water on her. It rained, and the weather was chilly and watching people engage in such inhuman behaviour is unfair, he added.
According to the cafe owner, he has occasionally asked the homeless woman to stop blocking the entrance to his business but has never witnessed her acting belligerently.
However, Mr Gwin asserted that the woman turned quite combative and told SF Gate that he would do it again. He said the street was being washed at that moment, but she stood her ground. She became pretty irate and began yelling foul language, he added. And at that moment, he continued, “the street cleaning was directed more in front of her.”
Read | 10 Best Dancers In India Who Rock The Dance Floor
The woman, according to Mr Gwin, has been loitering in front of his building for about two weeks. He said that he had phoned the police 25 times for assistance and that the officers informed the woman that morning that she needed to relocate.
According to the San Francisco Police Department (SFPD), officers responded to the woman being hosed as if it were an assault. Still, both Mr Gwin and the woman declined further police intervention.
However, social media users were appalled by the abuse meted out to the homeless woman in the video, which has caused indignation among them.
