Atlanta City Council resolution urges APD to release Johnny Hollman body cam footage
Calls for APD to release video in deacon's death
The Atlanta City Council voted unanimously to urge the police department to release the body cam footage showing the arrest of Johnny Hollman who died in police custody. This came after impassioned demands from his family members to make the video public. A lot of people went to Atlanta City Hall calling for the release of that footage during public comment.
ATLANTA - The Atlanta City Council voted unanimously Monday to urge the Atlanta Police Department and mayor to release the body cam footage showing the arrest and in-custody death of Johnny Hollman.
This came after impassioned demands from his family members to release the video to the public.
"Release the tape! My daddy was a deacon. He was a good dad. My dad was a grandfather of 26 grandchildren, 10 great-grandchildren…and y’all think we’ll believe anything you say? Release the tape!" said Hollman’s daughter during public comment at the Atlanta City Council meeting.
Hollmans family is demanding that the Atlanta Police Department release the body cam video showing the arrest and subsequent death of Hollman after a traffic accident on Aug. 10.
The family says they’ve been shown a portion of the body cam video officers wore that day, and they say it shows a much more violent encounter with police than APD has let on.
"The mayor, he said ‘transparency.’ Where is the transparency? God-damn it, I'm angry! I’m hurt and I’m emotional. My children are falling apart, I’m falling apart," his daughter continued.
City council members Michael Bond and Antonio Lewis co-sponsored a resolution urging the city to release the footage to the public.
"Therefore, be it resolved by the City Council of the City of Atlanta, Georgia, that the Mayor and the Atlanta Police Department is urged to release the August 10, 2023, video recording of a police related incident involving Mr. Johnny Hollman, as requested by his family," Bond read before the council.
The council unanimously passed it and also unanimously voted to send it to the mayor’s office "posthaste."
FOX 5 reached out to both the mayor’s office and APD about the resolution.
In a statement, APD responded saying, "The body camera footage of the incident involving Mr. Hollman is part of a pending homicide investigation, of which the investigative bodies have directed the city not to release until the investigation is closed, as well as a pending administrative investigation. We all want justice, and in order for there to be a just outcome, there are policies and procedures in place to ensure a proper and thorough investigation as well as due process in the upcoming administrative hearing."
Mayor Andre Dickens said in a statement:
"Make no mistake, I want this footage out in the public sphere quickly and have asked for options to expedite that process without compromising any investigation that will ensure justice is served. While there is nothing that can undo what was done, at my direction there have been changes to APD’s procedures with traffic citations where a refusal to sign the citation will no longer result in an arrest. Every loss of life matters to me personally, and my thoughts remain with the Hollman family."
This resolution only urges the city to release the footage but can’t really compel them to do it in any way.
The officer involved remains on administrative leave.