Police arrested at least four people who had climbed up on the roof of a Well Fargo bank in the Mission District today as part of a protest to end to home foreclosures.
The arrests came after the protesters, part of Occupy SF Housing, demanded that the manager of the bank at Mission and 16th streets fax a letter to Wells Fargo's chief executive officer, John Stumpf, calling for a moratorium on home evictions and foreclosures.
"This protest today was about Wells Fargo's role in evicting and foreclosing on our neighbors in the Mission and other neighborhoods in San Francisco," said a man who identified himself as "Stardust," an organizer with Occupy San Francisco and Occupy SF Housing, who witnessed but was not arrested during today's demonstration. "We're demanding an immediate moratorium on for-profit evictions and foreclosures."
Occupy SF Housing, a coalition that includes Occupy SF, San Francisco Tenants Union, Housing Rights Committee of SF and other groups, organized the noontime protest. As many as 200 protesters had gathered in the streets, according to observers.
A small group of demonstrators immediately climbed up on the roof and unfurled a large banner, said Ted Gullicksen, director of the tenants union, who participated in the protest but was not arrested.
Negotiations began immediately between the protesters and police, but when that failed, police at around 1:45 p.m. began arresting protesters.
"The protesters agreed to cooperate with their arrest. They walked down the ladder of the fire truck on their own power," said Stardust, explaining that they were led to a nearby patrol van. They were later cited and released.
San Francisco police officials did not return calls for details about the arrest.
Event organizers said today's event will make Wells Fargo a key target in a larger Occupy Wall St. West demonstration Friday that aims to shut down the city's Financial District.
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