Deacon Johnny Hollman Screams 'I Can't Breathe' In Brutal Police Body Camera Video
By Kelly Coffey-Behrens on November 22, 2023 at 1:49 PM EST
The body camera footage capturing the killing of Deacon Johnny Hollman Sr. was just released to the public by his legal team.
In the heartbreaking video, Hollman can be seen struggling with officers after calling them to the scene of a routine traffic accident in Atlanta, Georgia.
According to Hollman's lawyers, the police officer whose body camera video was released, confirms the situation "needlessly and brutally escalated a routine police-citizen encounter" following a traffic ticket. The incident resulted in the death of Deacon Johnny Hollman, who was unarmed.
On August 10, 2023, Deacon Johnny Hollman Sr, had just finished Bible study and was on his way home when he was involved in a minor car accident. Hollman called 911 and reportedly waited for over an hour for the police to arrive.
Hollman's lawyers say Officer Kiran Kimbrough arrived at the scene, and “decided that Deacon Hollman was at fault and issued him a traffic ticket.” That is when Deacon Hollman asked to see a sergeant. Officer Kimbrough seemingly ignored his request and told the 62-year-old that he would take him to jail if he did not sign the ticket.
Deacon Hollman told Officer Kimbrough he would sign the ticket, but the officer took him to the ground and began tasing him.
This is when the video takes a deadly turn, and Deacon Hollman can be heard telling the officer "I Can't Breathe," fifteen times. At some point, Hollman stops moving and the officers are scene trying to determine if he has a pulse. After being transferred by emergency services, Deacon Hollman was pronounced dead at Grady Hospital.
Warning: The Video Below Is Graphic, Viewer Discretion Is Advised.
Attorney Harold W. Spence stated that the 62-year-old man posed no risk or threat to Kimbrough at all.
"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," the full statement reads.
A press conference will be held by the Hollman Family and legal team on Wednesday, November 22 at 2:00 p.m. ET. It will be live-streamed on the Davis Bozeman Johnson Facebook Account.
According to reports, APD Chief Darin Schierbaum terminated Officer Kimbrough for failing to "follow the department’s standard operating procedures." According to the results of the administrative review, Kimbrough failed to have a supervisor on the scene prior to proceeding with the physical arrest of Hollman for refusing to sign a citation.
In a statement released at the same time as the video, Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickeens says the investigation has led the city to change how the Atlanta Police Department handles minor traffic citations and to develop new policies involving the public release of video evidence connected to the use of force by officers.
