ATLANTA — The City of Atlanta Civil Service Board denied former Atlanta Police Department Officer Kiran Kimbrough’s appeal to be reinstated.
Atlanta deacon Johnny Hollman died in August 2023 after he was Tased by Kimbrough following a minor traffic accident.
The following October, Kimbrough was fired from APD for not calling a supervisor to the scene.
Hollman’s family has since settled with the City of Atlanta over Hollman’s death, but they are still pushing for charges to be filed against Kimbrough.
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Separately, Kimbrough had been fighting to get his job back.
Now, that effort has been defeated.
The Civil Service Board made their decision on April 7, weeks after a mid-March hearing with Kimbrough and APD.
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According to the board’s decision, they found that Kimbrough had violated APD’s operating procedures by attempting to arrest Hollman before approval by an on-scene supervisor.
Along with the exhibits presented by the city and Kimbrough, the board listened to witness testimony and materials related to Hollman’s cause of death.
Officials said they considered the evidence submitted by the City of Atlanta and by Kimbrough, as well as the other materials, and “based on the totality of the evidence, the Board declines to modify the discipline previously imposed on Mr. Kimbrough.”
Going into detail on the operating procedures, the board said Kimbrough had to establish if he was intending to detain Hollman or arrest him.
Due to Kimbrough’s actions after Hollman called 911 to the scene of the accident, the board found that Kimbrough was attempting an arrest, rather than detention until a supervisor arrived.
The board said no evidence was shown that suggested Hollman meant to or tried to harm Kimbrough. Additionally, the board said that “nothing in our review of the BWC footage even remotely suggests that Mr. Hollman intended to leave the scene,” referring to Kimbrough’s body camera.
They also said Hollman “made no threats, verbally or physically, to either Mr. Kimbrough or the bystanders,” which Kimbrough “seemed to concede” during an interview. An investigative report of the incident also said that Kimbrough “did not seem to be in danger at any point,” and “no safety concerns necessitated the immediate handcuffing” of Hollman.
Finding Kimbrough’s statements to not be credible, especially in consideration of the footage, the board found that instead, Kimbrough had been the one to initiate by telling Hollman to sign the ticket or he’d be taken to jail. Hollman repeatedly refused to sign the citation.
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