New body camera footage sheds light on the death of Deacon Johnny Hollman following a traffic ticket dispute in Atlanta.
Davis Bozeman Johnson Law posted the video on Wednesday, which shows what happened after the 62-year-old got into a car accident while on his way home from Bible study on Aug. 10. APD’s Kiran Kimbrough was the responding officer at the scene at Cunningham Place and Joseph E. Lowery Blvd.
In the footage, Kimbrough said Hollman was at fault for the accident and asked him to sign the ticket. Hollman requested to speak to his sergeant.
“Lord have mercy, Jesus,” Hollman said. “I didn’t do nothing wrong.”
“Who are you screaming at?” Kimbrough said. “I told you once, lower your voice. You’re not going to scream at me. Do you understand what I’m telling you? Now you’re going to sign this ticket, or I’m going to take you to jail.”
The officer told Hollman he could speak to his supervisor after signing the ticket. Hollman is texting on the phone while Kimbrough repeatedly demands his signature.
“You’re trying to make me guilty of something I’m not guilty of,” Hollman responded. “Is what you’re trying to make me say?”
While Hollman finally agrees to sign the document, Kimbrough approaches him and appears to try to grab his arm. Seconds later, the cop pushes him on the concrete.
“Why are you hurting me like this, man? I’m an old man,” Hollman said.
Kimbrough yells at the man while having a stun gun pointed at him, “Put your arms behind your back!”
Hollman repeatedly informs the officer that his “asthma is acting up” and that he needs help and can’t breathe. However, Kimbrough continued to shout his demands, strike him, and eventually used the Taser on him.
While handcuffed, Hollman appeared to be unresponsive, and Kimbrough mentioned that he was bleeding. First responders were called to the scene, and the Lively Stones of God Ministries Church deacon died at a local hospital.
“The release of Kiran Kimbrough’s body worn camera video confirms the undeniable truth that Kimbrough needlessly and brutally escalated a routine police-citizen encounter over a traffic ticket into a fatal encounter for Deacon Johnny Hollman, an unarmed 62-year-old man who posed no risk or threat to Kimbrough at all,” Attorney Harold Spence said in a statement.
Last month, Kimbrough was terminated from the department following an administrative investigation.
“APD’s administrative review found that Officer Kimbrough violated standard operating procedure when he failed to have a supervisor on the scene prior to proceeding with the physical arrest after Mr. Hollman failed to sign the citation,” the department noted.
