Fears of Halloween-like agitated crowds in the Castro last weekend were unfounded, according to reports from the San Francisco Police Department. Most people were out to have a good time during Pride weekend and celebrate they did.

"The Castro is the focus for much of the celebrations," said SFPD Captain John Goldberg of Mission Station. "Overall, it was a great weekend. There is no comparison [to Halloween] and a lot of the credit for that goes to the Sisters [of Perpetual Indulgence]. They put on the event and safety is the primary concern for them."

Goldberg also credited Officer Jane Warner of the San Francisco Patrol Special Police in the Castro and her patrol specials for assisting with making the two nights of partying in the Castro smoother.

Warner agreed with Goldberg that Pink Saturday and the celebration after Pride on Sunday couldn't be compared to Halloween in the Castro in recent years.

"It felt like the Halloween of old," said Warner. "We didn't see any shooting. We didn't have thugs coming up. It just had a better feel to it and there was room to move. We didn't have the same crowds that we had at Halloween."

There were incidents throughout most of Pride weekend, but there were no reported incidents on Friday night and relatively few arrests were made on Pink Saturday and Pride Sunday, according to the SFPD.

Two storefront windows were reported shattered over the weekend. One happened on Saturday night at Citizen Clothing on Castro Street near 18th Street. Witnesses pointed a woman out to officers and she was arrested after reportedly dodging police and being uncooperative. Sunday night saw another window shattered at Buffalo Whole Foods on Castro and 19th; a woman tried to run from police but was arrested. Owners of both stores were notified, and damage was assessed at $500 and $1,700 respectively, according to the reports.

According to police reports, there were 13 fights reported during Pride weekend, one on Saturday night and 12 on Sunday night. Three of the fights resulted in arrests and the others were quickly resolved.

There were three reported incidents of theft on Saturday night.

According to police spokesman Sergeant Steve Mannina, there were two arrests for possession of marijuana during the Pride celebration at Civic Center. It was unknown if the individuals had state-issued cannabis cards. Mannina told the Bay Area Reporter that the Pride event was relatively calm.

According to Mannina, when the Pride celebrations moved from the Civic Center to the Castro there was one incident of a police officer being assaulted, one robbery, two felony arrests, one misdemeanor arrest, and a few arrests for public drunkenness.

"On the whole, the crowds are extraordinarily happy and cooperative and ... it is unfortunate that there were any incidents," said Goldberg.

There were no reports of anti-gay hate violence reported at press time, according to Tina D'Elia, hate violence survivor program director of the Community United Against Violence.

"It seemed like it was a larger crowd than in previous years, but I was impressed with the police department," said Warner. "The police department staffed the Castro better than I've ever seen it staffed in previous years."

According to Goldberg, police officers from other stations were called in to provide a "greater police presence to help dissipate problems relatively quickly" on Sunday. There was also an additional police presence during Pink Saturday.

The extra police officers were called in around the time groups of youths began to gather in the Castro, according to Goldberg. There were five reported incidents of youths loitering, drinking, and "causing trouble" on Sunday, but they were quickly abated, avoiding the similar problems SFPD had last year, according to Goldberg.

"Other than [Citizen's window shattering], I thought that the night was probably the best one in years," said Steve Adams, president of Merchants of Upper Market and Castro, about Pink Saturday. "I talked to some of my fellow merchants and they had the best sales weekend in years."

Adams told the B.A.R. that he attributed other Pride events around the city with helping with the crowds in the Castro.

"The weekend in general was very good for the neighborhood," said Adams, who also credited the San Francisco Department of Public Works for cleaning up after the party. "I was very happy."

Even the DPW survived Pride weekend, especially after an unknown person decided to take a DPW truck for a brief joy ride during the early morning hours Monday after Sunday's party. A DPW employee reported to police that the truck was left running and unlocked in order to use the steam cleaner that was on the truck. The DPW employee was knocked to the ground by the hose he was using to clean the streets when someone drove the truck away. He suffered some slight injuries, but was okay. The truck was found on Market Street near a Muni station, still running with the keys in the ignition, according to the report.

"It was stolen for about a block or two," said Goldberg. "Someone took it for a quick ride. Not the most conspicuous getaway car."