Command Staff

Meet the Commanders

Each Community we serve has their own Commander assigned to them.  Each Commander is responsible for ensuring the needs of their assigned Community is met with the highest standards.  The Commander meets regularly with the Mayor and Board of their community.  The NCPC deploys in each community exactly to their needs.  

Chief of Police
John E. Buchannan

Chief John Buchannan was sworn in as Chief of Police of the North County Police Cooperative in September of 2018. Prior to becoming Chief of Police, Chief Buchannan graduated from Kirkwood High School in Kirkwood, Missouri. After graduating High School, Chief Buchannan worked as a turnkey at the Beverly Hills Police Department until he turned 21.  Chief Buchannan then attended and graduated from the Jefferson County Community College and the Police Academy in 1995. Upon his graduation, Chief Buchannan was appointed as a sworn officer with the City of Beverly Hills. During his 24 years with the Beverly Hills Police Department, Chief Buchannan rose through the ranks and eventually was appointed Chief of Police in 2013.

During his tenure at the Beverly Hills Police Department, Chief Buchannan was heavily involved with the Community. Chief Buchannan started a Police Explorer Post and a community basketball league where he was the mentor for many youths that participated in the programs. Chief Buchannan also spent 20 years in the Normandy School District working as a security officer\SRO within the district’s footprint. Chief Buchannan also started a neighborhood watch program in the City of Beverly Hills where he received an outpouring of support from the community.

In 2015, Chief Buchannan left the City of Beverly Hills to join the Vinita Park Police Department to help develop and form the North County Police Cooperative. Once the North County Police Cooperative was formed, then Captain Buchannan was assigned as commander of the Wellston Precinct. Chief Buchannan was promoted from Captain to Major, and then Lt. Colonel where he served as the Assistant Police Chief to Tim Swope. During that time the North County Police Cooperative grew to seven communities.  

Chief Buchannan is a member of the North County Police Chief’s Association, St. Louis Area Police Chief’s Association, and the Missouri Police Chief’s Association. Once appointed Chief of the North County Police Cooperative, Chief Buchannan adopted the “community first” motto and pledged that community policing would be in the forefront of the department’s policing methods. Chief Buchannan has also started a neighborhood watch program in every community that the department serves. Under Chief Buchannan’s Leadership, the NCPC has grown to become the 6th largest Municipal Police Department in St. Louis County and is an internationally Accredited Law Enforcement Agency By CALEA. Chief Buchannan’s energetic hands-on leadership style, along with 21st Century policing practices, have taken the criminal elements off the streets in an unbiased way and reduced crime while maintaining the support of his officers and community. Chief Buchannan has implemented numerous best police practices which have ultimately garnered safer communities for the 17,000+ citizens and hundreds of business owners the agency partners with. It is without a doubt Chief Buchannan’s mission to make the NCPC communities some of the safest in the nation. Chief Buchannan continues to work with the community and meet the individual needs of every community the North County Police Cooperative serves.

Major Ron Martin

  • Major Martin has twenty-two (22) years of law enforcement experience and has been with the NCPC since 2016.
  • Major Martin is the Assistant Chief of Police for the NCPC, and his roles include oversight of the daily operations of the Department’s investigative components, to include the Bureau of Criminal Investigations (BCI) and the Special Enforcement Division (SED). In addition, Major Martin is the Department’s PIO, Social Media Coordinator, Federal E-Share Coordinator and Crime Analysis Coordinator.
  • Major Martin is the Precinct Commander for the NCPC’s Uplands Park Precinct.
  • Major Martin’s prior police commissions were with the Ferguson (MO) Police Department, the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department (MO), and the Nevada Highway Patrol (NV), as well as a Law Enforcement Professional contracted through the United States Army’s Criminal Investigation Command.
  • Major Martin has received numerous awards and letters of appreciation during his career.
  • When asked about the concept of the North County Police Cooperative, Major Martin said, “There is no law enforcement organization across the nation that could fathom what the NCPC has accomplished in the 6 years we have been here. Every person who has been or is a part of the organization has helped make it successful.

Captain Michael Lang

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      • Capt. Michael Lang has almost 25 years of Law Enforcement experience, and he has been with the NCPC since July 2022.
      • Captain Lang is the Commander of the Bureau of Field Operations, and his role consists of the oversight of the daily operations of the Department’s Patrol Division and Precinct Commanders.
      • During Capt. Lang’s time at the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office, he began his career as a jailor. He worked his way to becoming a Patrolman and then was assigned into the Detective Bureau where he rose to become the Commander of the Bureau. He created and managed the first full-time Drug Task Force in Lincoln County. He spent 10 years working for the Major Case Squad of Greater St. Louis as a TOG officer. 
      • Capt. Lang was deputized as an ATF Task Force Officer from 2009-2012 participating in undercover operations purchasing stolen, defaced and otherwise illegal firearms and narcotics.
      • Capt. Lang was assigned to the DEA as a Task Force Officer from 2011-2014 where he specialized in long-term conspiracy drug investigations.  
      • Capt. Lang also was assigned as the Commander of the Multi-County Narcotic and Violent Crime Unit in Lincoln County.  
      • Capt. Lang served as the Chief Deputy (Assistant Chief) from 2014 through 2020. In the Chief Deputy role, he spent years running the day-to-day operations of the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office and Jail.
      • Capt. Lang has received awards from the DEA, ATF and has received the Distinguished Service Award twice from the United States Attorney’s Office for his work. 
      • When asked about the North County Police Cooperative, Capt. Lang said, “I’ve never seen a wiser approach to improving so many cities, as to bring their resources together for the sole purpose of improving the quality of life and sharing the notion of community. The 24:1 concept is powerful and should be a standard, not an exception.”

 

LT. ETHERIA THOMPSON

  • Lt. Thompson has twenty-eight (28) years of police experience and has been with the NCPC since 2021.   
  • Lt. Thompson is the Precinct Commander for the NCPC’s Dellwood Precinct and is the Bureau of Field Operations (BFO) Commander.
  • Lt. Thompson’s prior police commissions were with the Beverly Hills (MO) and Velda City (MO) Police Departments. Lt. Thompson was also an International Police Advisor serving with the United Nations – European Union. 
  • Lt. Thompson has received numerous awards and letters of appreciation during his career. 
  • When asked about the concept of the North County Police Cooperative, Lt. Thompson said, “The one GREAT thing our organization is doing is changing the perception that citizens have about law enforcement. We are changing that landscape as we speak.”

Lt. Dawain Wallace

  • Lt. Wallace has twenty-one (21) years police experience and has been with the NCPC since May 2022. 
  • Lt. Wallace is the Commander of the Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI), in which he oversees all investigations, to included Homicides, Assault, Robberies, Sexual Assault, Child Deaths and Missing Persons.
  • Lt. Wallace is also the Commander of the Pine Lawn Precinct, in which he oversees the daily operations in Pine Lawn.
  • Lt. Wallace’s prior police commission was with the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department for twenty (20) years. Lt. Wallace started his Law Enforcement Journey at the age 16, when he was an Explorer with Beverly Hills Police Department, from there he became a Turnkey (Corrections) Officer with Northwoods Police Department, and then with the St. Ann Police Department before joining the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department.
  • Lt. Wallace was assigned to several specialized units including: Probation and Parole, Traffic Safety, Narcotics, Housing Unit, and the DEA Task Force.
  • Lt. Wallace was deputized as a Task Force Officer with the DEA, twice for a total of 8 years, where he specialized in long term conspiracy drug investigations, and worked in an undercover capacity, targeting multi-kilo narcotic distributors in and around the St. Louis region.
  • Lt. Wallace has received awards, certificates, and proclamations from the City of St. Louis, St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and the United States Attorney’s Office.
  • When asked about the concept of the North County Police Cooperative, Lt. Wallace said, “I truly enjoy working for a police department where the motto is Community First”

Lt. Mark Brown

  • Lt. Brown has over forty (40) years of police experience and has been with the NCPC since 2015. 
  • Lt. Brown is the Commander of the Auxiliary & Traffic Unit for the NCPC and serves as a lead investigator in the BCI Division.
  • Lt. Brown’s prior police commissions were with the Lincoln County (MO) Sheriff’s Department  and Montgomery County (MO) Sheriff’s Department, as well as the Vinita Park (MO) Police Department.  Lt. Brown has received numerous awards and letters of appreciation during his career.
  • When asked about the concept of the North County Police Cooperative, Lt. Brown said, “I believe numerous law enforcement organizations are striving to do what we have been doing for 6 years.”

Sgt. Darren Woods

  • Sgt. Woods has twenty three (23) years of police experience and has been with the NCPC since 2016. 
  • Sgt. Woods is the Interim Precinct Commander for the NCPC’s City of Wellston and Velda Village Hills Precincts. Sgt. Woods is also a Field Training Officer (FTO) 
  • Sgt. Woods’ prior police commission was with the University City (MO) Police Department 
  • Sgt. Woods was named the June 2021 Officer of the Month and has received numerous letters and certificates of appreciation.
  • When asked about the concept of the North County Police Cooperative, Sgt. Woods said, “It is awesome and humbling to serve the communities of North County.  The NCPC provides the highest level of service to it’s citizens.”