The Atlanta City Council on Monday unanimously approved a $3.8 million settlement in a lawsuit involving the family of Atlanta church deacon Johnny Hollman, who died last fall after a struggle with a city police officer.
Attorneys for Hollman’s family filed a federal lawsuit in January, with civil rights claims placed against the City of Atlanta, Atlanta Police Chief Darin Schierbaum and former Officer Kiran Kimbrough.
In August, the 62-year-old Hollman became unresponsive after Kimbrough stunned him with a taser at the site of a minor car crash in Southwest Atlanta. The altercation occurred after Hollman refused to sign a ticket written by the officer.
The lawsuit claims it was Kimbrough’s use of excessive force in stunning Hollman that served as the primary cause of death. An autopsy found that, while heart disease contributed to Hollman’s death, it was a homicide.
After three months of urging from the family, the former officer’s body cam footage was released to the public in November.
The footage, over an hour in length, showed the officer stunning Hollman as he lay on the ground, shouting “I can’t breathe” to the officer nearly a dozen times before seeming to fall unconscious.
After witnessing this, Kimbrough placed handcuffs on the Hollman and tried to get him to sit up. Hollman passed away at Grady Memorial Hospital shortly after.
Mawuli Davis and Harold Spence, the DeKalb-based attorneys who represent the Hollman family, told WABE on Tuesday that they were thankful to the council, Atlanta Mayor Dickens and outgoing City Attorney Nina Hickson for their efforts in resolving the settlement.
“From a legal standpoint, we have always been pushing for accountability,” said Davis. “We believe this resolution, that was unanimously passed by city council, speaks to that … it’s important to close this chapter on the civil side so that [the family] may focus their energy, and we may focus on the criminal prosecution in this case.”
Spence said that a major roadblock in the case was the city’s initial lack of admitting to any wrongdoing, particularly in the dismissal and lack of consequences for Kimbrough.
“We saw that Kimbrough was terminated not because of Deacon Hollman’s death, not for striking him in the head multiple times with a closed fist, not for tasing him multiple times, not for unnecessary violence he inflicted upon him. He was fired for the administrative failure to call a supervisor to the scene,” Spence said.
Spence said that the settlement was a “just financial remedy,” and the family will continue to pursue criminal prosecutions against Kimbrough and Eric Roberson, a tow truck driver on the scene who assisted in physically detaining Hollman.
“When you watch the video, after Deacon Hollman has been rendered motionless, you hear this tow truck driver bragging, literately saying that he was unaware that he still had it,” said Spence.
“It was an insane act on his part to join a situation that he had no knowledge of, and for him to literally straddle Deacon Hollman’s head and neck with his full body weight, it was just incomprehensible,” Spence added.
SEE ALSO: Attorneys, Hollman family continue to push criminal charges following $3.8 million civil settlement in Atlanta deacon’s death
Anitra Hollman, Johnny Hollman’s daughter, expressed gratitude for the city’s financial decision and the ability of her family to focus on continuing to receive justice for her father.
“The emotions are still high, all over the place,” said Hollman. “But going forward, we just got to stay together, we got to stay strong and we got to continue to fight … that’s when we will have our peace and that is when our father’s spirit to us will really rest in peace.”
But Anitra Hollman said it still won’t make up for the loss that she says she and her family continue to be affected by.
“I miss him playing his gospel music loud early in the morning, waking everybody up … just seeing that smile. We looked forward to that all the time,” she said.
Hollman and her attorneys also thanked the community for their efforts in continuing to fight with them in seeking justice, particularly organizations such as The Southern Center for Human Rights, The Malcolm X Grassroots Movement and The Black Man Lab.
“They’ve opened up their meetings, they brought this family in so that they could hear directly from the family,” said Davis. “If this is to be claimed for any type of victory for justice, it is a people’s victory, but it is not over yet.”
When reached for comment, Dickens expressed his condolences for the family and their loss.
“My thoughts remain with the Hollman family, and while nothing can undo what has been done, my priority was to get this family as close to full closure from this unfortunate tragedy as soon as possible,” said Dickens in a statement.
“Significant changes to procedures following the incident have been made, which include the new CARES unit — whose first members’ training should conclude next month.”
And while further steps in seeking criminal prosecution for Kimbrough and Roberson have yet to be determined, Hollman has faith that her father’s legacy will be honored.
“We believe in fighting for justice … and stand up for what’s right,” she said. “We got to keep our daddy’s legacy going and don’t let his death be in vain.”
