About the Sheriff

Personal History

Sheriff Eric Klang is married and has four adult sons. Eric grew up in Hermantown, MN and moved to Brainerd in 1990.

Law Enforcement Experience

Sheriff Klang began his career in law enforcement with the Crow Wing County Sheriff's Office in June of 1990. He was assigned as a drug operative with the Heartland Drug Task Force / Net IV. Eric was hired to purchase marijuana but only purchased methamphetamine, a problem not recognized by the community at the time. He was also the first drug task force member to buy GHB in the State. Since that time, Sheriff Klang has worked in every area of law enforcement.

Sheriff Klang was elected Sheriff of Crow Wing County in November 2022 and has more than two decades of law enforcement experience. Eric has spent all of his working life in public service. He has a history of developing innovative leadership and community outreach ideas. He is an expert on customer service and its direct relationship to law enforcement. Eric believes customer service is the cornerstone of policing services. "If you have good customer service, everything else will fall into place."

Sheriff Klang also served as the Sheriff of Crow Wing County from 2003 - 2006. At the time, he was one of the youngest sheriffs ever elected in the state of Minnesota. Eric also served as the Chief of Police for the Pequot Lakes Police Department from 2011 - 2022.

Eric holds a B.S. degree from Bellevue University in Criminal Justice Administration and an A.A.S. in Law Enforcement from Hibbing Community College. As the Sheriff, Eric recognizes that he needs to be the lead learner and holds numerous certifications in upper management courses. He is currently working on his Master's degree.