On Wednesday, the Atlanta Police Department released the video of an officer using a stun gun on 62-year-old church deacon Johnny Hollman, who later died following the August 10 incident.
In the video, Hollman attempted to explain to Officer Kiran Kimbrough that he was trying to make a left turn when another vehicle ran into his pickup truck. Hollman continued to explain that he did nothing wrong as he refused to sign the citation. APD stated that Hollman became “agitated and uncooperative” when the officer found him at fault for the accident and issued him a citation.
Attorney Mawuli Davis, who is representing the Hollman family, states that Johnny was attempting to call his daughter Arnitra Fallins.
Davis alleged that Officer Kimbrough did a leg sweep that caused Hollman to fall to the ground, which could not be seen in the video.
Hollman could be heard screaming for help and repeatedly saying that he could not breathe.
Davis states that he could hear Hollman saying, “I can’t breathe” at least 16 times. Fallins, who was driving to the scene, said that she could hear her father screaming for help and saying that he couldn’t breathe, according to APNews.
As Officer Kimbrough used the stun gun on Hollman and yelled for him to put his hand behind his back, Hollman appeared not to be moving in the video.
Kimbrough told responding officers that he struck Hollman several times as Hollman allegedly tried to grab the officer.
“I took him to the ground and stuff, and he started grabbing my hand like he was finna hit me, so I punched him a couple of times, tased him, put him in cuffs,” the officer is heard saying. “I don’t know what’s going on with him now. He’s still breathing, though.”
Last month, Kimbrough was fired from the Atlanta Police Department for not following standard operating procedures. The police department stated on Wednesday that an on-site supervisor must approve physical arrest for refusal to sign a citation.
Following the fatal incident, the police department made several changes, including revising its standard operating procedures regarding traffic citations and allowing officers to write “refusal to sign” instead of making an arrest.
Hollman’s death is currently still under investigation by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.
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