ALBANY, N.Y. -- Cattaraugus County Sherriff Timothy Whitcomb presented at the New York State Department of Criminal Justice Services' two-day training program for officers who experience trauma during the job.
During his speech, Whitcomb spoke about his best friend. Former Cattaraugus County Sheriff Dennis John committed suicide in 2009.
More than 1,000 officers have completed the two-day program which focuses on job stressors, line of duty deaths, and police suicides.
"What the training does is, it invites local law enforcement, executives, supervisors and first line supervisors to come in and talk about some critical incidents," said Johanna Sullivan, Office of Public Safety Director for the New York State Department of Criminal Justice Services.
In 2012, the New York State Department of Criminal Justice Services began offering a free training to law enforcement to address trauma experienced while on the job. Many times officers are reluctant to talk about the emotions they feel and this can lead to a form of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
Whitcomb says although training for the field is important, attention also needs to be paid to officers on a more personal level.
"Historically, that emphasis has been on safety training, firearms training, defensive tactics training but there also needs to be an emphasis on insulating and protecting in giving officers the tools to survive emotional and psychological traumas as well as physical traumas," Whitcomb said.
The Trauma in Law Enforcement training is part of a larger plan to provide ongoing services to officers who need an outlet to maintain their emotional and mental health.
"We are human. We make mistakes and we go through some tough times. It's important that there are peer support groups out and we have the training so officers have a place to go so their mind can be in the right place," said Town of Colonie Police Chief John Teale.
Sullivan says though it's difficult to quantify the success of preventive measures like the trauma training, more and more agencies from across the state are requesting the program.