Officials are using money from drug forfeitures to increase the safety of local West Virginia state troopers.

Marshall County Prosecuting Attorney Jeffrey D. Cramer said law enforcement officials pitched the idea to him after two West Virginia State Police officers were shot and killed in August.

In response, officials are using money collected from drug arrests to increase the safety of 11 local troopers by distributing Individual Patrol Officer Kits.

The kits are designed to help an officer and stop heavy bleeding if they’re shot, stabbed or otherwise wounded in the line of duty.

Cramer will give one to each of the state police officers serving Marshall, Wetzel and Tyler counties.

The kits are designed to be small enough for officers to carry in their uniforms and can easily fit in their pocket. Inside the kits are a tourniquet, gauze and gloves. They were specially designed by North American Rescue in South Carolina for the three detachments serving those counties.

"It was really a no-brainer to go out and get the kits. I had the money. These guys go out and put their lives on the line every day as evidenced by the two troopers that were killed this year. We have had a history of a trooper killed here in Marshall County at the prison riot, so don't think for a minute that it couldn't happen here, Cramer said.

Cramer said the kits are easy to use and could even help a trooper help and injured victim. He will present the kits to one of the sergeants at the Moundsville detachment Thursday afternoon.