Atlanta cop killed 62-year-old for refusing to sign ticket

Johnny Hollman called 911 after getting into a minor car accident. But instead of helping him, the responding officer beat and subpoenaed Hollman after he hesitated to sign a ticket, leading to the 62-year-old’s death.

Hollman’s family filed a lawsuit and has now received a $3.8 million settlement.

“Even though nothing can undo what has been done,” Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens said in a statement. statement This week, “my priority was to bring this family closer to this unfortunate tragedy as quickly as possible.”

On the evening of August 10, 2023, Hollman was driving home when he was involved in a low-speed collision with another vehicle. According to the lawsuit filed by Hollman’s family, Hollman and the other driver called 911 to report the accident. Although no one was injured, both drivers wondered who was responsible for the accident.

After more than an hour, Atlanta Police Officer Kiran Kimbrough arrived on the scene. Soon after, he decided Hollman was at fault and wrote him a citation.

However, Hollman was reluctant to sign the citation. “Deacon Hollman did not explicitly refuse to sign the citation,” the complaint states. (Hollman was a deacon at his local church). “But every time he was asked to do so, he said the collision was not his fault.”

Eventually, Kimbrough threatened to send Hollman to prison unless he signed the ticket, and Hollman called one of his daughters.

According to the suit, Kimbrough then began walking toward Hollman. Almost simultaneously, Kimbrough grabbed one of Hollman’s arms, and Hollman said, “I’ll sign the ticket.”

Hollman repeatedly said he would sign the ticket. However, “ignoring Deacon Hollman’s concession to his request to sign the ticket, Defendant Kimbrough performed a leg sweep maneuver on Deacon Hollman, causing him to fall to the ground,” the suit states. “As he did so, Defendant Kimbrough commented to Deacon Hollman, ‘You are acting crazy!'”

Over the next several minutes, Kimbrough struck the back of Hollman’s head at least twice with his fist, tagged him twice, and allowed another citizen to “help” him by sitting on the Hollman’s head and neck, while ignoring Hollman’s frequent statements that he could not “I’m not breathing.

Ultimately, Hollman was transported to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead. An autopsy later concluded that Hollman’s cause of death was homicide.

Following the incident, the Atlanta Police Department revised its policies to prohibit the arrest of an individual solely for refusing to sign a traffic ticket, and Kimborough was fired.

Hollman’s family filed a lawsuit against Kimbrough and the city of Atlanta in January. This week, they obtained a $3.8 million settlement in the case.

“We recognize that, and not just as a victory for their family,” said Mawuli Davis, one of the Hollman family’s attorneys. said The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Monday. “But it’s really a recognition of the importance of community in these fights for justice.”