Wash. high school welding students help modify police cruisers for training

Kelso Police will use the vehicles to practice PIT maneuvers; the students installed pit bars to allow the training vehicles to withstand repeated impacts without being damaged

October 25, 2025 06:00 AM

By Minka Atkinson
The Daily News, Longview, Wash.

KELSO, Wash. — Kelso High School’s advanced welding classes are partnering with the Kelso Police Department to modify two decommissioned vehicles for officers to train with.

Kelso Police will use the vehicles to practice Precision Immobilization Technique maneuvers, or PIT maneuvers, which are used to end vehicle pursuits, according to a district press release.

Students led by welding instructor Steve Mahitka are fabricating and installing pit bars to allow the training vehicles to withstand repeated impacts without being damaged. They expect to finish the first vehicle by late November. Work on the second vehicle will begin next trimester.

“It’s a great opportunity for us to work on something that will be put to good use,” said student Dale Pippin in the news release, “not just for a grade.”

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