The death of a 62-year-old Atlanta church deacon who was electrically shocked by a police officer was ruled a homicide, according to an autopsy report.
As Johnny Hollman, the deacon, was being arrested after a minor car crash, an Atlanta police officer stunned him with a Taser and handcuffed him because he refused to sign a ticket. Hollman had a history of heart disease, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.
The Fulton County Medical Examiner’s Office told the outlet that Hollman suffered from cardiac dysrhythmia caused by the stun gun, which in combination with his medical history, led to his death. The manner of death was ruled a homicide.
The medical examiner, Melissa Sims-Stanley, said in her report that she reviewed the body camera footage of the incident, which has not been made publicly accessible, explaining how she concluded the manner of death was a homicide.
“Based on my review and interpretation of the video, Mr Hollman is unresponsive from the time that the energy device (Taser) is deployed,” she wrote.
The deacon’s death has resulted in a police policy change. Now, officers are allowed to write “refusal to sign” rather than arrest someone who refuses to sign a ticket.
Law enforcement and the lawyer for Hollman’s family have different stories of how the incident transpired.
“The officer attempted to issue a traffic citation to the at-fault driver. However, the driver became agitated and uncooperative,” a previous release from the Atlanta Police Department said. “The officer attempted to take the driver into custody, but he resisted, and a struggle ensued.” That’s when a Taser was used, and a witness helped the officer place Hollman in handcuffs.
“Once the driver was in handcuffs, the officer realized he was unresponsive and requested EMS to the scene,” the release said. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) was asked to look into the incident. The officer involved, Kiran Kimbrough, was placed on administrative leave, the release added.
The GBI largely echoed the police’s report. A release based on “preliminary information”, published in August, described Hollman as “non-compliant” and reiterated that Officer Kimbrough didn’t realize Hollman was unresponsive until after he had taken him into custody.
The family’s attorney, Mawuli Davis, however, said he watched the body camera footage and outlined the differences he noticed from the other accounts. Speaking to the AJC, Mr Davis said that Hollman asked for a police sergeant to come to the scene “because he disagreed with this officer’s assessment of who was at fault.”
The attorney also said the police officer initiated the physical altercation. “As he attempts to reach out to sign the ticket, the officer grabs him by the arm and he begins to put him in custody and take him to the ground,” Mr Davis said. “And you can hear Mr Hollman begging for him to stop.”
The footage in question will not be released until the investigation concludes, the ADP said last week.
Hollman’s daughter started a GoFundMe page for funeral services in August. “This has been going on too long and my family and I are devastated and overwhelmed over this sudden and tragic incident. My daddy didn’t deserve this and we don’t deserve this,” Arnitra Fallins wrote.
