Sheriff asks Cowlitz County commissioners to add two decommissioned patrol cars for PIT training

Mark Johnson, an administrative-services supervisor with the sheriff's office, asked the Cowlitz County Board of Commissioners to approve adding two decommissioned patrol vehicles to the department's EVOC (emergency vehicle operations course) fleet for PIT (pursuit intervention technique) training. "RCW requires us to have training in emergency vehicle operations every 2 years to be state compliant," Johnson said, and the office holds the training annually to keep skills fresh.

Johnson said the department previously used the Washington State Patrol track in Shelton but now conducts training at Portland International Raceway; the sheriff's office borrowed vehicles from Clark County Sheriff's Office last year. He described the conversion as minimal work to replace the front bumper with a reinforced channel-iron bumper so the cars can be used repeatedly for training scenarios.

Commissioner Sean Roehwe and other commissioners asked about frequency, weather conditions for training and whether the PIT tactic has been used in Cowlitz County. Johnson said the department has used the maneuver in recent years but did not provide an exact count. Commissioners queried auction value and lifecycle; deputies said converted cars would still be auctioned when no longer usable for training and estimated auction value for similar vehicles at $6,000 to $8,000.

When asked whether the sheriff's office needed a formal vote or just a nod, staff said board approval is required because the fleet would expand by two vehicles. Multiple commissioners responded they were "good" with the request. No formal recorded motion or roll-call vote was taken during this discussion; staff said conversion and ongoing maintenance costs should be minimal and that the vehicles would be returned to auction when retired.