Sheriff's office asks Cowlitz County commissioners to add two decommissioned vehicles for PIT training

Commissioner Sean Roehway introduced a request from the sheriff's office for the board's approval to add two decommissioned patrol vehicles to the county fleet for pursuit-intervention training. "Today, we wanted to talk about, some pit maneuver vehicles request," Roehway said and turned the presentation over to Mark Johnson of the sheriff's office.

Mark Johnson, administrative services with the sheriff's office, told commissioners the request is to convert two vehicles that are being decommissioned so they can be used for PIT training and other Emergency Vehicle Operations Course (EVOC) scenarios. "What we're requesting today is, two vehicles that are no longer in service as patrol vehicles," Johnson said, and described PIT as one of several options deputies may use alongside GPS pursuit tools and spike strips.

Johnson said state law (RCW) requires training in emergency vehicle operations at least every two years and the department runs training annually to keep skills current. He described the conversion work as largely mechanical: removing the current front bumper and having a fabrication shop install channel-iron bumpers so the vehicles can be reused for training. When asked about costs, Johnson said the conversion would be "minimal." Commissioner comments indicated agreement that the vehicles' auction value (staff estimated $6,000—$8,000) and the limited maintenance needs made the request acceptable.

Commissioner Roehway asked for a board nod to add the vehicles to the fleet for training; the board indicated informal approval during the discussion. Roehway noted the vehicles would still be auctioned if removed from the program. No formal motion or roll-call vote was recorded in the transcript.

The sheriff's office will proceed with the conversion plan pending administrative follow-up and any formal action the board later chooses to record.