by Daniel Johnson
November 25, 2023
The Hollman family has been searching for justice since the death of Hollman in August.
The Atlanta Police Department released bodycam footage of the tasing death of Johnny Hollman on Nov. 22, 2023. Hollman was a 62-year-old deacon at Atlanta’s Lively Stones of God Ministries Church who was tased by Atlanta Police Officer Kiran Kimbrough over Hillman’s refusal to sign a traffic ticket. According to 11 Alive, the bodycam video runs over an hour and also includes edits from the Atlanta Police Department. Kimbrough has been fired due to the August incident for failing his obligation to “have a supervisor on the scene prior to proceeding with the physical arrest after Mr. Hollman refused to sign the citation.”
Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens cautioned the public that the video could be difficult for some to watch in an official statement, which was also posted to Twitter/X.
“The video will be difficult to watch for many people, especially the family of Mr. Hollman. I continue to extend my deepest sympathy to them and hold them close in my thoughts and prayers. We also extend our gratitude to those in the community who have embraced and supported the family during these difficult months,” the statement read.
The family of Hollman has been searching for justice since the death of Hollman. Hollman’s daughter, Anitra Hollman, told 11 Alive, “I saw the way he leg swept my father and then threw my daddy down to the ground. That’s very heartbreaking.”
Another one of Hollman’s daughters, Santeesh Crews, said that it has been sickening for her, saying, “This morning, I woke up sick to my stomach. I broke down and cried.”
The official autopsy report describes Hollman’s cause of death as cardiac dysrhythmia, which resulted from being tased by Kimbrough, according to the report.
Hollman called the police on Aug. 10 because he had gotten into a minor accident. As officers were investigating, they believed he had caused the accident and attempted to issue a citation to Hollman. Hollman initially refused to accept it, Kimbrough escalated the encounter and tased Hollman. Hollman was pronounced dead at nearby Grady Hospital.
Yesterday we attended a prayer vigil with the family of Deacon Johnny Hollman, Sr. His family grieves his killing last August at the hands of 23 year-old Kiran Kimbrough, a newly-trained @Atlanta_Police officer. They viewed the full recording of his killing yesterday afternoon 1/ pic.twitter.com/X4m3tJFZLG
— Tiff Roberts (@shedefendsit) November 22, 2023
On social media, users are connecting Hollman’s death with the planned construction of the controversial “Cop City” training center in DeKalb County, near Atlanta.
Dickens has called for additional training for officers because the view from the APD’s internal investigation was that more training of its officers would help keep situations like Hollman’s death from happening.
The 23-year-old Kimbrough joined the force in 2021 as a 21-year-old.
The Hollman family, meanwhile, has taken meetings with Fani Willis, the Fulton County District Attorney, in hopes that Kimbrough will be brought to justice.
Mawuli Davis, the attorney representing the Hollman family, said during a press conference in October, “What we saw was murder, we saw an assault against a 62-year-old man who was literally pleading for his life, informing the officer that he could not breathe, informing him of his medical condition and that he was having issues with asthma. And, the officer with malicious intent continued to strike and tase.”
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