Operations Division - Capt. Eric Klinkhammer

Kenosha County hired Captain Eric Klinkhammer as a Deputy Sheriff in June of 1993. He worked second-shift patrol for six years before transferring to first shift. He was the first full-time school resource officer at Westosha Central High School, serving there from 1999-2005.  

He returned to patrol, and the Sheriff appointed him the position of K9 Handler. From 2006-2015, he and K9 Bear patrolled the County on first shift. He was one of two dog teams that restarted the K9 unit after a 30-year absence from the Department.

His partner K9 Bear retired in 2015, and Deputy Klinkhammer was promoted to Sergeant. In that position, he served as a Conveyance Supervisor and Public Information Officer. He was promoted to Lieutenant in 2017, first serving as the Facility Administrator at KCDC, then moving to be the first Administrative Lieutenant and assisted in implementing a formal internal affairs division. In 2021, he was appointed as Interim Captain and held command of the Detentions Division for several months until a new Captain was promoted.  He was then assigned as the Lieutenant of the Detective Bureau until his recent promotion to Captain of Operations that oversees the patrol and detective bureau.

Operations Captain Klinkhammer is trained as a Field Training Officer, Evidence Technician, and Crash Reconstructionist. Before promoting to a supervisory position, he served as the President, Treasurer, and Board Member of the Kenosha County Deputy Sheriff’s Association.

As commander of the Operations Division, Capt. Klinkhammer oversees the Patrol Unit, the Detective Bureau and various Specialized units within patrol operations.