Atlanta’s police chief on Tuesday fired an officer involved in the death of a 62-year-old Black church deacon who was shocked with a Taser during a dispute over a traffic ticket.
Police Chief Darin Schierbaum said Officer Kiran Kimbrough didn’t follow department procedures on Aug. 10 when he failed to wait until a supervisor arrived to arrest Johnny Hollman Sr.
Kimbrough had been on administrative leave, but the chief said he ultimately made the decision to fire him after an internal investigation concluded Monday.
“Part of my job is to assess, evaluate, and adjust how this police department is carrying out its sworn mission to serve and protect the citizens of this city,” Schierbaum said. “I understand the difficult and dangerous job that our officers do each and every day throughout the city. I do not arrive at these decisions lightly.”
The LoRusso Law Firm, which represents Kimbrough, stated Tuesday afternoon that he will appeal his termination.
“Officer Kiran Kimbrough vehemently denies any wrongdoing or policy violations in connection with the investigation, detention and arrest of Mr. Johnny Hollman,” it stated.
“Our client is a decorated law enforcement officer and looks forward to the release of the entire investigation. The loss of any life is tragic. However, Officer Kimbrough’s actions in detaining Mr. Hollman and making a lawful arrest did not cause Mr. Hollman’s death.”
According to relatives, Hollman was driving home from Bible study at his daughter’s house and bringing dinner to his wife when he collided with another vehicle while turning across a busy street on Atlanta’s West End.
Hollman and the second driver waited more than an hour for police to arrive.
But, authorities have said he “became agitated and uncooperative” when Kimbrough issued a ticket finding him at fault for the wreck.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation said Kimbrough and Hollman struggled physically before Kimbrough shocked Hollman, causing him to become unresponsive.
Arnitra Hollman, the deacon’s eldest daughter, has disputed that account from the start. Johnny Hollman allegedly called her on the phone and she listened for more than 17 minutes before arriving at the scene of the wreck and finding him on the ground.
On Tuesday, she reacted to the officer’s firing surrounded by family members, lawyers and community activists.
“You’re not going to keep smearing his name,” Arnitra Hollman said. “You’re not going to keep talking about him in that way, because that is not who Johnny Hollman Sr. was. He was a man of God, not just a deacon. He was a man of God!”
Harold Spence, one of the family’s attorneys, said while they’re “elated” about the news, they feel the police department isn’t being completely transparent and honest.
“Why wasn’t there some mention of his repeated pleas [of], ‘I can’t breathe,’ that grew increasingly in desperation?” Spence said.
“That wasn’t why deacon Hollman died – because there wasn’t a supervisor there that night. He died because this officer, this obsessed officer, brutalized him. A 23-year-old brutalizing a 62-year-old. That’s why he died.”
An autopsy recently ruled Johnny Hollman’s death a homicide but noted that heart disease was a contributing factor.
The decision on Tuesday came one day after Johnny Hollman’s family met with Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis to discuss the case. They say body-cam footage of the incident could be released as soon as next week.
The family has long called for the video to be shared publicly to “restore” Johnny Hollman’s name. They have seen five minutes out of the entire 36-minute video.
And, Spence said, it shows that Johnny Hollman did not refuse to sign the traffic ticket.
“We’ve seen a lot of videos since 2020,” Spence said.
“While this video perhaps is not as graphic …, it does share commonality with the George Floyd video. The killing is equally senseless. Made no sense. … We are trying to change the system that creates people like Officer Kimbrough, and this system gets perpetuated when you have official findings for somebody’s termination that don’t address the underlying facts of what caused someone’s death.”
Atlanta police officials have since ruled that officers should write “refusal to sign” on a traffic ticket instead of arresting someone who won’t sign.
