In many ways, a police chief is like a captain navigating a ship. John Barney Ruschetti, San Rafael’s fourth police chief, did a lot for the city but also had to navigate some controversy.

Ruschetti was born in 1888 and grew up in Fort Bragg. Ruschetti and his brother turned the large hall in the back of a saloon into a gym, where he and other young men spent hours training. By the early 1900s, Ruschetti enjoyed a successful boxing career.

Around 1918, Ruschetti formed a boy’s club, teaching self-defense along with having parental respect and respect for law and order. Ruschetti did the training out of his home and paid out of pocket for boxing equipment. The club had 40 boys who participated in monthly boxing matches.

Ruschetti joined the Fort Bragg Police Department, working his way up to chief of police from 1922 to 1928. He moved to San Rafael and became a San Rafael police officer in 1932 under Chief Sabin Kane. He also started another boy’s club, holding boxing matches for the 185 members in the basement of his house at First and C streets in San Rafael.

Although juvenile crime decreased, Kane felt Ruschetti spent too much time on his boy’s club and not enough time arresting people. In May 1934, two San Quentin convicts escaped and took two San Rafael police officers hostage. Kane ordered all officers to the station to start a search for the patrolmen. Everyone responded except Ruschetti, who was home sick with a bad cold. Several days later, Kane fired Ruschetti for willful negligence.

Despite a petition with 1,100 signatures presented at the City Council meeting asking to keep Ruschetti as a police officer, the City Council sided with Kane, saying they could not interfere with the duties of the police chief. Ruschetti was hired by the city as municipal recreation director and continued to operate his boy’s club.

In the 1939 election, Ruschetti beat Kane with 2,349 votes to Kane’s 1,464 votes.

Ruschetti instituted red call lights that hung above three intersections on Fourth Street in San Rafael that were turned on when an officer was needed, as there were no radios at the time. Ruschetti was often seen driving around in his 1928 Model A Ford while checking on his officers. In 1943, Ruschetti lost his re-election to Frank Kelly, the Marin County undersheriff at the time.

Looking back on Ruschetti’s career, he had a difficult time with the City Council but made a great contribution to San Rafael by running Barney’s Boy’s Club. It was reported that juvenile crime was reduced by 80% during Ruschetti’s tenure in office. Many of those boys became outstanding citizens, including Mario Ghilotti, of Ghilotti Bros.

In the 1990s, members of the San Rafael Police Association found Ruschetti’s 1928 Model A on a farmer’s property. The association had it restored, including its red lights and siren. The car is used in parades and other events.

Author’s note: During my high school years in the 1960s, I accompanied my father to Winton’s News on Fourth Street in San Rafael. I had the occasion of meeting Ruschetti and he would always say hello to me and shake my hand. I never paid much attention to the 30-minute conversation he had with my dad, but one thing I will never forget was the vice-like grip he had when he shook my hand.

Ruschetti died in 1967 at age 79. Thank you for your service to the youth of San Rafael.

Henry Barbier is a Marin History Museum board member and retired San Rafael police officer.