‘Why Are You Hurting Me?’: Fired Atlanta Cop Who Left 62-Year-Old Man Dead After ‘Brutally’ Escalating Argument Over a Traffic Ticket Begged for Job Back — He Just Got Denied
The city of Atlanta Civil Service Board denied the appeal of a former cop who is fighting to get his job back after he was fired for his role in a fatal confrontation with a 62-year-old church deacon in 2023.
Kiran Kimbrough requested the civil service board to approve his reinstatement to the Atlanta police force. The committee oversees appeals regarding suspensions, demotions, and dismissals of city employees.
On Aug. 10, 2023, Kimbrough responded to a minor car crash in southwest Atlanta involving Deacon Johnny Hollman.
Kimbrough said Hollman was at fault and tried to issue him a traffic citation, but Hollman refused to sign it. Bodycam video showed that Kimbrough kept pressing the deacon to sign the ticket before taking him to the ground.
“Why are you hurting me like this, man? I’m an old man,” Hollman said.
“Who are you screaming at?” Kimbrough said in bodycam footage. “I told you once, lower your voice. You’re not going to scream at me. Do you understand what I’m telling you? Now, you’re going to sign this ticket, or I’m going to take you to jail.”
Kimbrough hit, tased, and handcuffed the 62-year-old man, who lost consciousness during the struggle.
According to WAGA, when medics arrived at the scene, he told them, “I took him to the ground and stuff. He grabbed my hand like he was going to hit me, so I punched him a couple of times, tased him, and put him in cuffs.”
Hollman was rushed to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Autopsy results stated that his death was a homicide and that heart disease was also a contributing factor.
Attorney Harold Spence said at the time of the video release that “Kimbrough needlessly and brutally escalated a routine police-citizen encounter over a traffic ticket into a fatal encounter.”
Kimbrough was fired in November 2023 for not following standard operating procedures, which dictate that he must call a supervisor to the scene before arresting Hollman.
In May 2024, the city of Atlanta paid Hollman’s family $3.8 million to settle a federal lawsuit they filed, which accused police of violating the 62-year-old’s civil rights.
The civil service board denied Kimbrough’s request to return to the police department, citing his violation of police protocol and that Hollman’s refusal to sign a ticket did not necessitate an immediate arrest or physical struggle. They also determined that Hollman never posed an imminent threat to anyone’s safety.
Hollman’s family members expressed satisfaction at the board’s decision to reject Kimbrough’s appeal.
“I miss my father,” Hollman’s daughter, Arnitra, said. “I have mixed emotions, I’m all over the place right now… but for us, it was a good decision. It gives us hope to continue to fight and continue to press forward.”
The family is still demanding that Kimbrough face criminal charges in connection with the fatal encounter.
“Yes. He murdered our father. Yes,” Hollman’s daughter said, adding that Kimbrough should be charged with “murder.”
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation looked into Hollman’s death and released its findings to Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis. Willis has not decided whether to pursue charges, and the family’s attorney, Mawuli Davis, said she is still reviewing the case.
“That has been and continues to be this family’s ultimate objective, to ensure he is prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” Davis said. “This case will be looked at thoroughly and given due consideration,” he said.