A new captain recently started work at the Mission police station, which oversees the Castro and Mission districts, just weeks before the San Francisco LGBT Pride Parade and festival – an event that draws hundreds of thousands of people to the city – and only about six months after the last captain was appointed.

Captain Stephen Tacchini, who has 31 years with the San Francisco Police Department, started his new job June 2.

Several people in the LGBT community said they think Tacchini will do well.

Steve Adams, president of the Merchants of Upper Market and Castro, said he met Tacchini recently at a meeting related to several upcoming events and said the captain seemed "very hands-on."

Tacchini was "really involved in making sure the Trans March, the Dyke March, and the Pink Saturday festivities go smoothly," Adams said.

Tacchini said his plans for this year's Pride-related activities in the Castro will be consistent with past years. He said police will work with groups involved to "make sure everybody there can have a good time and be safe."

He said plans for Halloween are being developed, but it was too soon for him to comment further.

Supervisor Bevan Dufty, who represents the Castro, said he's known Tacchini for more than 10 years.

"We're lucky to have Steve," Dufty said. He has "a tremendous background overseeing field operations across the city, and he's a believer in community policing."

Tacchini said he intends to listen to the community.

"I welcome people's suggestions as to how to improve conditions in their communities, and I'm a strong advocate of police working with community members to resolve issues. ... I welcome people's comments or suggestions or questions," Tacchini said.

Tacchini, who turned 53 Tuesday, oversees about 150 people at the station. His salary is $163,566.

The last station captain, Tim Hettrich, who started the job in January, said he's working on a special assignment on the history of medals of valor and will retire around July 1. Hettrich, 59, said he's been with the police department for about 40 years.

"It's a transition to get a new captain of police in there who's going to be around for a while, since I'm not going to be around a while," Hettrich said. He said he thinks Tacchini will do "a wonderful job." Asked if he was assisting Tacchini during the transition, Hettrich would only say, "I'm a phone call away."

Theresa Sparks, president of the San Francisco Police Commission, said she's excited about Tacchini's appointment. Sparks said since Tacchini was once captain of the city's Central police station, he's familiar with handling activities like street fairs and demonstrations and is capable of leading the highly active Mission station.

"He can fit into the position seamlessly," Sparks said.

Tacchini said he started his career with the city's police at Mission Station in 1977. Besides being captain of Central Station, he's also held that job at the Tenderloin Station. About six years ago, Tacchini was part of a joint task force of the city's Human Rights Commission and the San Francisco Police Department to develop transgender protocols for the department. He said from July 2005 to January 2008 he was field operations commander, and then became deputy chief of field operations in January 2008.

That job lasted only about a month. According to news reports, Tacchini was demoted after an alleged domestic abuse incident involving his son James, who Tacchini said is now a patrol officer at the Ingleside Station.

According to the San Francisco Chronicle , the woman involved in the incident has said nothing had happened. However, according to the Chronicle , Captain Tacchini was demoted for "inappropriately" handling the incident.

Tacchini said of the issue, "I'd prefer not to discuss it because that's an active personnel matter.

"The only thing I can say is that I'm in a high profile position here at the station, and I'm happy to be here ... I'm assuming that I've been exonerated of any assumed wrongdoing or I wouldn't be in this position."

Police Spokesman Sergeant Wilfred Williams said personnel matters could not be commented on.

Sparks said Tacchini's demotion "doesn't concern me at all." She said she knows a lot of the circumstances about what happened that she can't divulge.

"I don't think there's really any reason for that to cast any suspicion on his integrity or abilities," Sparks said.