ATLANTA — Both the city’s Mayor and the family of Johnny Hollman say they are grateful they have reached a settlement after the deacon’s death.
The Atlanta City Council voted unanimously to approve the deal and to try to move forward after the death of the deacon, father, and grandfather.
August 2023, a dispute over a traffic citation ended with Hollman on the ground, Tased.
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Hollman’s death led to protests and a push for transparency.
His family waited for months for the release of the body camera footage and announced they were suing the now-fired officer, Atlanta’s police chief, and the city.
“So, while the chief, city council, and the mayor’s hands were not on that taser, their fingerprints were all over it,” said family attorney Mawuli Davis.
Monday, the city agreed to pay $3.8 million to settle the case.
“Cities and corporations don’t hand out that money unless there is significant risk involved,” said former DeKalb County district attorney Robert James.
James knows about these types of settlements.
He says there are discussions on how much the city could lose and that goes beyond just the money.
“There are two types of revenue that we are talking about here for cities. There is the one in dollars and cents, and there is the other that is reputational,” said James.
After the settlement, Mayor Andre Dickens released a statement that said in part:
“My thoughts remain with the Hollman family, and while nothing can undo what has been done, my priority was to get this family as close to full closure from this unfortunate tragedy as soon as possible,” said Dickens.
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The family also responded to the agreement saying the settlement has “brought closure to this part of our fight for justice. We will continue to demand arrests of those responsible for our father’s death.”
“We are grateful that Mayor Dickens and the City Council have brought closure to this part of our fight for justice. We will continue to demand arrests of those responsible for our father’s death,” said Arnitra Hollman, daughter of Deacon Johnny Hollman.
The mayor’s office says they are committed to changes after this death and made three changes:
- For traffic citations, they will allow folks to refuse to sign, without needing to arrest them.
- Expediting a civilian response unit, which are unarmed trained civilians to handle low-risk calls
- Developing new policies on how they release body camera footage.
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