Deacon Johnny Hollman's family wants tow truck driver charged with murder
Deacon's family wants tow truck driver charged in murder
The family of a church deacon who died while in Atlanta Police custody now wants two people charged in the case: the Atlanta police officer who tased 62-year-old Johnny Hollman, and the tow truck driver who allegedly helped restrain the deacon by placing a knee on his neck.
ATLANTA - Protesters gathered outside of Atlanta Police headquarters on Tuesday, demanding justice after body camera footage of former Atlanta police officer Kiran Kimbrough revealed what led up to Deacon Johnny Hollman being arrested.
The 23-year-old officer is accused of deploying a Taser on the deacon and throwing him to the ground after a minor traffic accident on Aug. 10.
The family believes Kimbrough, who has since been fired, should be charged with murder.
Former Atlanta Police Officer Kiran Kimbrough
Now, the family and some members of the public have added a tow truck driver to their list of "should-be criminals." They say Eric Robinson, should also be charged after seeing the driver restrain Hollman as the officer handcuffed him.
"This tow truck driver put his knee … he assisted the officer who was fired from APD. This tow truck driver from S&W, he assisted and put his knee on Deacon Hollman's neck, which contributed to his death," said activist Durand Robinson.
On Monday, a community activist asked the Atlanta City Council's Public Safety Committee to take financial action against the company.
"We are asking that you guys remove S&W from towing for the city of Atlanta. It is a bad look on our city for this company. You have a multi-million dollar contract, and one of their drivers helped to kill an old African American man who was also a deacon," Robinson said.
FOX 5 Atlanta reached out to S&W Towing for their reaction to this new development. As of the publishing of this report, they had not responded.