Ceremonial bill signing helps give meaning/hope, nine years after unarmed Tulsan was shot by security guard

OKLAHOMA CITY – In February of 2015 in Tulsa, an unarmed young Black man, Monroe “Trey” Bird III, was shot in a car in his apartment’s parking lot and left paralyzed by a security guard who reportedly was in possession of marijuana and had other medication in his system at the time. Bird, 21, died a few months later. Even though Bird lived in the apartment complex and had done nothing wrong, the security guard was never prosecuted.

Troubled by that and other shootings by security guards in his community, Sen. Kevin Matthews, a Democrat from Tulsa, began working on legislation. In about 2021, Matthews was introduced to Johnny Magness, of Boley.

“Mr. Magness is married to Trey’s mother, Zondra, and eventually we worked together on Senate Bill 1370,” Matthews said. “The bill requires more training, specifically in de-escalation techniques for armed security guards through the Council on Law Enforcement Education and Training (CLEET), as well as increased mental health screening.”

The 2022 measure won overwhelming, bipartisan approval in the Legislature and was signed into law.

But it wasn’t until after the bill had become law that Magness had the opportunity to visit with the governor about what had happened to Trey and the resulting legislation. The governor suggested holding a ceremonial bill signing so that the family could formally celebrate the work that had been done in Trey’s memory. The ceremony was finally held at the Capitol on March 27.

“I think Trey would have been smiling, and you wouldn’t have been able to wipe that smile away, just to know that this was done in his honor,” Johnny Magness said. “I believe this law will save lives.”

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CUTLINE: Johnny and Zondra Magness, parents of Trey Bird, Gov. Kevin Stitt, Karen Ekuban and Sen. Kevin Matthews, D-Tulsa, at a ceremonial bill signing for legislation to require increased training/mental health screening for armed security guards. Matthews was principal Senate author of SB 1370, with House principal author, Rep. Jason Lowe, D-Oklahoma City.

For more information, contact:  Sen. Matthews at 918-955-2283 or Kevin.Matthews@oksenate.gov.