Former Oklahoma DHS director, Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center director dies

Demps died at Peace River Regional Medical Center in Port Charlotte, Fla., near his home after he suffered complications during surgery.

Born Jan. 5, 1934, in Harlem, N.Y., Demps served in the U.S. Air Force from 1952 to 1956, and earned a bachelor's degree in political science from State University of New York in 1972.

He was an air traffic controller and supervisor at the New York Air Route Traffic Control Center and served as superintendent of the Federal Aviation Administration Academy in Oklahoma City in 1976.

In 1979, Demps became the first black director of the Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center. While serving as the center's director, he was praised for his management during the air traffic controller strike in August 1981.

Demps earned a law degree from the Oklahoma City University School of Law and passed the Oklahoma bar in 1982.

From 1985 to 1991, he worked as director of the FAA's Europe, Africa and Middle East office in Brussels, Belgium. During his tenure, he helped develop the policy of placing armed federal marshals on flights, said Ricky Brown, his grandson.