The Atlanta Police Department said it will make changes to its traffic citation procedure following the death of a 62-year-old man.
According to authorities, Johnny Hollman Sr. became agitated during an encounter with police during a minor traffic accident on Aug. 10. An Atlanta police officer then tased him and placed him in handcuffs before noticing he was unresponsive.
Hollman was taken to Grady Hospital, where he later died.
From the start, his daughter, Arnitra Hollman, has disputed that account.
She said at a press conference a couple days after his death that Hollman left a Bible study at her house when he called her 20 minutes later saying he had been in a car accident and called the police for help. She stayed on the phone with him as she drove to the scene.
“Next time I heard my daddy’s voice,” Arnitra said. “I heard my daddy beg for help.”
Along with demanding that Atlanta police release the bodycam footage from the incident, Arnitra said her family wanted the officer to be held accountable. She said Johnny was a deacon at his church and a grandfather of 26 children.
“How do you die in a minor traffic incident that he called the police on?” Arnitra said. “No, he called them to help him. Now he ends up dead? A few feet from his door. He was going home. He was going home.”
In a news release on Friday, Sept. 8, Atlanta police said they have now shown Johnny’s family the bodycam footage.
“At the direction of Mayor Andre Dickens, APD conducted a top-to-bottom evaluation of the interaction with Mr. Hollman, including a review of the department’s Standard Operating Procedures and training curriculum,” it stated. “As a result of that review, there have been updates…regarding traffic citations to allow officers to write ‘refusal to sign’ in the signature line rather than make an arrest.”
The new policy requires officers to inform drivers that a signature is not an admission of guilt. It just acknowledges receipt of the ticket and court date.
Both APD and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation are conducting ongoing investigations into Johnny’s death. APD has requested the agency to investigate four use-of-force incidents so far this year.
In a statement to WABE, Atlanta police confirmed that the officer involved in Hollman’s case remains on the force.
“The officer is in an administrative assignment,” it stated.
