In the past two years, three West Virginia State troopers have committed suicide. In response, Gov. Manchin authorized more research into the problem. Since then, the West Virginia Council for the Prevention of Suicide has co-sponsored several suicide prevention workshops across the state.
Sgt. Micheal Baylous of the West Virginia State Police says the workshops are a necessity because of the stress level that comes with the badge.
"We tend to internalize our stress and sometimes that’s internalized into negative behavior," he said.
According to the National P.O.L.I.C.E. Suicide Foundation police officers are more likely to die from a self inflicted wound than in the line of duty. The foundation also says that of the 18,000 law enforcement agencies in the country only about 2 percent participate in any police suicide awareness programs.
"This is an opportunity for us to understand and know more about what we’re going through on a daily basis and to be better prepared to react to them."
As the country gets ready to honor the nation's veterans, Baylous also hopes to bring some attention to veterans working in law enforcement who are not only dealing with the stress of their current job but may also suffer from post traumatic stress disorder.
Since the war in Afghanistan started, more than 6,000 veterans have committed suicide after returning to the U.S.
"There are a high number of officers in our country, especially in West Virginia, that are military veterans," he said.
"We have seen across our country that it has been difficult sometimes for our military personnel," he said, "to adjust when they are coming back from a war zone and coming into our country and back into their law enforcement duties."
"We do hope that this training is beneficial not only to them but for everyone."
Robert Douglas, the Executive Director of the National P.O.L.I.C.E. Suicide Foundation, is the featured speaker during the conference Tuesday.
"I would guess that the general population have no conception of how serious the issue is of police suicide in the ranks of law enforcement in our country," Douglas said.
"With the coupling of the issue of military retuning back to the ranks of law enforcement it makes it of a greater urgency."
Douglas' speech is expected to train officers on how to look for symptoms in order to prevent suicide. He says it focuses on the emotional aspects of the job, something often neglected during other trainings.
"We train them and put a great deal of emphasis on officer safety," he said. "But where we do not seem to address is the issue of the emotional trauma that these officers are going through."
The workshop is sponsored by the West Virginia State Police, the West Virginia Council for the Prevention of Suicide and the Bureau for Behavioral Health and Health Facilities.