Sen. John Haste, R-Broken Arrow, and Rep. Sheila Dills, R-Tulsa, thanked  Stitt after he signed Senate Bill 968 into law.

The bill prohibits the release of a recording showing an officer dying in the line of duty unless the court rules the material should be released in specific cases.

“This bill is about protecting the dignity, not only of our fallen heroes, but their fellow officers and surviving family members, who can be retraumatized by these recordings.  It can also make it more difficult to seat a jury in such cases,” Haste said.

The defense and prosecuting attorneys would still have access to these recordings, and family members of the deceased officer would also be able to view them. The legislation was filed after video was released of the shooting of Tulsa Police Sgt. Craig Johnson in 2020 after a traffic stop.  Johnson later died from his injuries..