The San Francisco Police has launched an investigation into the owner of an art gallery after spraying water with a hose on a homeless black woman, according to the local media San Francisco Chronicles. The images have been published by a Chef that he works in the area where the attack occurred, in Jackson Square, and that he was able to record the moment.
In an interview, the owner of Foster Gwin Gallery has explained to The Chronicle that the woman overturned several garbage cans at the door of the gallery and then refused to leave. However, the representative of the city’s District Three, Aaron Peskinhas described the assault as “disproportionate”.
“A full police report is being prepared and witness statements are being requested to ensure that this man is charged,” he said. She has also explained that the woman has been admitted to the local hospital since this Wednesday.
Gwin has defended his behavior, saying he asked her to move to “clean up the street.” She has claimed that the woman’s reaction was to “yell belligerent things, spit and yell.” Given this, the author of the aggression has recognized that he has sprayed her under these words: “Move and I will help you.”
Policies that encourage aporophobia
San Francisco Police Chief, Bill Scotthas urged calm and has asked that if anyone was upset with the situation, they should not act in anger and instead call the Police so they can help.
The case is in the hands of the Police to collect evidence, interview witnesses and present the case to the district attorney. However, the attorneys for the American Civil Liberties Union and the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights They have issued a statement in which they denounce what people who do not have a home live in the Californian city.
The organization’s lawyers issued a statement, stating that the policies of San Francisco toward homelessness turn the “homeless population into scapegoats, as if they were objects to be swept away, imprisoned and harassed“.
