Family Speaks Out on $3.8 Million Settlement in Atlanta Deacon’s Tasing Death

(NEW YORK) – The family of Johnny Hollman, the 62-year-old Atlanta deacon who died after an Atlanta police officer tased him following a minor accident in August 2023, spoke out after receiving a $3 settlement .8 million with the city of Atlanta.

“(The settlement) will never value my father’s life,” Hollman’s daughter, Arnitra Hollman, told ABC’s GMA3 co-host DeMarco Morgan in an exclusive interview airing Thursday.

“$3.8 million will never get us closure. We will have to live with this pain for the rest of our lives. This is our new normal,” she added.

The Atlanta City Council voted unanimously in favor of the settlement Monday night, agreeing to pay $3.8 million to settle a civil lawsuit filed in January by the Hollman family against the city of Atlanta, former police officer Kiran Kimbrough and police chief Darin Schierbaum of Atlanta.

The complaint, a copy of which was obtained by ABC News, alleged that “unlawful use of excessive force” led to Hollman’s death after the deacon was tased while resisting arrest for refusing to sign a subpoena stating that he was at fault for a minor accident. .

ABC News reached out to Atlanta police and Kimbrough’s attorney, but requests for comment were not immediately returned.

Hollman family attorney Harold Spence told it GMA3 that the settlement is a “clear acknowledgment that they understood there was something wrong that needed to be corrected.”

The settlement comes amid an ongoing investigation into the deacon’s death on August 10, 2023 by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office.

Asked about the settlement and the status of the investigation, a spokesperson for the DA’s office told ABC News: “As the matter is still under investigation at this time, we cannot comment.”

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation did not respond to ABC News’ request for comment.

Hollman family attorney Mawuli Davis said in a statement after the settlement: “While this part of their fight is coming to an end, this fight for justice will not end until criminal charges are brought.”

Hollman’s death led to policy changes at the Atlanta Police Department that were announced by the city in November 2023.

“What I don’t want to see is this happening to anyone else,” Arnitra Hollman said. “I don’t want this to happen to another family. I want police policy to change. Traffic violations should not require a death sentence.”

Changes implemented following Hollmans’ death include launching a civilian response unit to respond to ‘low-risk calls for service’, and allowing officers to ‘refusal to sign’ writing when a person refuses to sign a traffic ticket, rather than demanding an arrest. , according to a city news release from November 2023.

“My thoughts remain with the Hollman family, and while nothing can undo what has been done, my priority has been to get this family as close to complete closure to this unfortunate tragedy as quickly as possible,” Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens said. to ABC News. written statement after the settlement. “Significant changes have been made to procedures following the incident, including the new CARES unit – the first member training of which should be completed next month.”

What the body camera video shows

Body camera video released by the Atlanta Police Department (APD) in November 2023 shows an argument between Hollman and Kimbrough after the deacon refused to sign a traffic ticket, saying he was at fault for the minor accident.

The one hour and six minute video showed Hollman repeatedly telling Kimbrough that he had done “nothing wrong” as Kimbrough threatens to arrest Hollman if he doesn’t sign it.

In the video, the interaction appeared to escalate as Kimbrough tried to arrest Hollman and the deacon resisted.

During the struggle, you hear Hollman finally agree to sign the ticket. A tow truck driver, who was called to respond to the crash, is also seen in the body camera footage pinning Hollman to the ground.

As he is pinned to the ground, Hollman can be heard repeatedly saying on the video, “I can’t breathe.”

The officer first threatened to use his Taser gun on Hollman and eventually activated his Taser video shows. Hollman appeared unresponsive almost immediately after being tasered. He was later pronounced dead at a hospital.

Arnitra Hollman told ABC News in an August 2023 interview that her father had “chronic asthma” since he was a child.

An autopsy conducted by the Fulton County Medical Examiner’s office lists Hollman’s manner of death as “homicide.” The report, a copy of which was obtained by ABC News, lists “cardiac arrhythmias resulting from the use of a conducted energy device in combination with hypertensive and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease” as the cause of death.

Kimbrough was initially placed on administrative leave amid an internal investigation, but the police department announced on October 10, 2023 that Chief Schierbaum “fired Officer Kimbrough for failing to follow department standard operating procedures” during Hollman’s arrest by failing to manage to call a supervisor to the scene. attempting to arrest Hollman for not signing the traffic citation.

Arnitra Hollman was on the phone with him for more than 17 minutes during the incident and was “likely on the phone with her father at the time he took his last conscious breath,” according to the complaint. When she arrived at the scene, she found him “on the ground, motionless,” the lawsuit alleges.

Reflecting on her last conversation with her father, as Friday approaches the nine-month anniversary of his death, Arnitra Hollman told Morgan, “He kept calling on the name of Jesus toward the end. It was as if his voice was getting lower and lower.”

“I still remember his voice. I can still hear him screaming. I can still hear his wallowing,” she added. “I can still see what he was like. He didn’t deserve that.”

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