Atlanta police officer fired over church deacon's death; family pleas for release of video

An officer connected to the death of Johnny Hollman, a 62-year-old church deacon, who died after he was shocked with a stun gun, has been fired from the Atlanta Police Department.

Hollman's family and their lawyers are urging Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis to release the bodycam footage showing the moments leading up to his death.

The responding officer, Kiran Kimbrough, was terminated on Monday after an Atlanta Police Department review found he violated standard operating procedures during Hollman's arrest, according to a statement from Atlanta Police Chief Darin Schierbaum. The department declined further comment to USA TODAY on Tuesday.

The altercation between Hollman and Kimbrough occurred on Aug. 10 after police responded to a minor traffic accident involving Hollman. Hollman became agitated after Kimbrough issued a citation finding him at fault, according to the Associated Press.

When officers attempted to arrest Hollman, a "physical struggle" ensued, and Kimbrough shocked Hollman, according to a press release from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, which is investigating the officer's use of force. By the time police took Hollman into custody, he was unresponsive, and he died shortly after at a hospital.

Nelly Miles, the public affairs director of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, declined to comment to USA TODAY, citing the active and ongoing investigation.

"We believe that what we witnessed in that five minutes that we were shown was murder, that it was unjustifiable homicide," Mawuli Davis, an attorney for Hollman's family who viewed the footage, told USA TODAY.

Davis is calling for a murder charge for Kimbrough.

An autopsy report released by the Fulton County medical examiner found that Hollman's death was a homicide. Hollman's cause of death was abnormal heart rhythms due to the use of a "conducted energy device" associated with a pre-existing cardiovascular condition, according to the report.

Hollman's daughter Arnitra Hollman, who was able to view the "disturbing" video around a month after her father's death, told USA TODAY she wants the public to see "the things he went through in his last hours here on Earth."

"I want it to be known. I want the world to see it," she said.

Harold Spence, an attorney representing Hollman's family, told USA TODAY the Fulton County District Attorney's Office plans to release body camera footage of the encounter on Thursday if no new witnesses are identified. 

Lance LoRusso, an attorney representing Kimbrough, told USA TODAY in an emailed statement, "Officer K. Kimbrough vehemently denies any wrongdoing or policy violations in connection with the investigation, detention, and arrest of Mr. Johnny Hollman. He will appeal his termination reportedly predicated upon his failure to call for a supervisor when Mr. Hollman refused to sign a lawfully issued citation as he was legally obligated to do."

The Fulton County District Attorney's Office did not immediately respond to USA Today's request for comment.

Lance LoRusso, an attorney who confirmed to the AP that he is representing Kimbrough, did not return USA TODAY's request for comment.

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Daughter heard the struggle that led to her father's death

Arnitra Hollman said her father left her Bible study session the night of the incident. After he called to tell her he was involved in a minor traffic accident, she drove to the scene, but by the time she arrived, it was too late.

Over the phone line as she drove, Arnitra Hollman heard the struggle between her father and Kimbrough. "I could just hear my daddy screaming out, asking for help, saying he couldn't breathe," Arnitra Hollman said. "I could hear my daddy saying his asthma was acting up."

Arnitra Hollman said police at the scene kept her away from her father and would not give her information about his condition. It was not until she arrived at the hospital that she was told her father died.

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Attorneys criticize police search report

According to a police report, officers found nine bags of marijuana and a firearm in Hollman's vehicle. The firearm, Davis said, was to be returned to its lawful owner, Hollman's grandson.

Davis said the release of results from the search, which was not conducted until after Hollman's death, was an attempt by police to "dissuade or erode community support for this family and for this demand for justice."

"When Deacon Hollman was being brutally slammed to the ground, when his face was being forced into the asphalt, when the officer punched him in his head, when the officer tased him, he had no idea what was inside that vehicle," Davis said.

Davis said community organizations and student groups had already organized three marches in support of Hollman's family, with another march led by the church community planned for this Thursday.

"We believe that the community is awakening, and that the energy that we experienced and felt across the country and particularly in Atlanta during 2020 can be reinvigorated because of this senseless death and the demand for the release of this video and the prosecution of this officer," Davis said.

Hollman's family is collecting signatures on a petition through the nonprofit Color of Change to demand the police department's release of the video.

Cybele Mayes-Osterman is a breaking news reporter for USA Today. Reach her on email at [email protected]. Follow her on X @CybeleMO.