A Black Church Deacon Died After Being Tasered — His Arresting Officer Was Just Fired

Johnny Hollman, 62, died in August after being tasered during a traffic incident

Johnny Hollman, Sr. was reportedly driving home from Bible study with fried chicken and an apple pie to share with his wife for dinner when he took a sharp turn. His white Chevrolet Silverado careened into the front of another vehicle on a late Thursday night in August, according to the police report obtained by PEOPLE.

Within hours of the accident, Hollman — who was a church deacon, according to CBS News and the Associated Press — was determined to be the “at-fault driver” by police, according to a previous statement from authorities. He was handcuffed after allegedly being "uncooperative," then tasered and became unconscious and rushed to an Atlanta hospital where he was eventually pronounced dead.

Now, his arresting officer, Kiran Kimbrough, who is also a Black man, has just been fired, the Atlanta Police Department announced yesterday. The incident remains an “active and ongoing” investigation by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, the agency confirms to PEOPLE, and criminal charges may be filed against Kimbrough in the coming months.

“Every single person and life in the City of Atlanta matters to me,” Atlanta Police Chief Darin Schierbaum said in a press release. “Part of my job is to assess, evaluate, and adjust how this police department is carrying out its sworn mission to serve and protect the citizens of this city.”

Schierbaum stressed that his decision came “only after a diligent review of all of the facts, while ensuring the due process of our officers.”

Kimbrough’s termination, which the Atlanta Police Department said in the statement is allegedly based on “failing to follow the department’s standard operating procedures,” was not yet official as of early Wednesday afternoon, according to records listing him as an active-duty police officer in good standing provided to PEOPLE by the Georgia Peace Officer Standards & Training Council. The Atlanta Police Department has not yet notified the council of Kimbrough’s termination, Meghan Fail of the council tells PEOPLE.

Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for PEOPLE's free True Crime newsletter for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases.

When police officers arrived at the scene of the car crash the night of August 10, Kimbrough “attempted to issue a traffic citation,” the police department's previous statement said. However, “the driver became agitated and uncooperative” and “a struggle ensued.”

“After several minutes struggling with the driver, the officer utilized his taser and, with the help of a witness, placed him into handcuffs,” the police department continued in their previous statement. “Once the driver was in handcuffs, the officer realized he was unresponsive and requested EMS to the scene.”

A medical examiner later determined Hollman's cause of death to be homicide but noted that heart disease was a contributing factor to his death, CBS News reports.

Officer Shaquana Almonds, who was present during the altercation, later impounded Hollman’s truck and described in her report, obtained by PEOPLE, finding a gun in the truck console, which was later claimed by his grandson. In the backseat was “a black bookbag that had two clear jars of nine baggies of marijuana,” along with “28.2 grams of an unknown substance and a green and black pocket knife,” as well as a black “scale to measure drugs.”

Kimbrough became a “peace officer” in October 2021, according to Georgia Peace Officer Standards & Training Council records and he had no disciplinary history.

The Atlanta Police Department’s announcement of Kimbrough’s termination comes within days of when body-camera video footage of the incident could be released, CBS News reports.

Public Affairs Officer Aaron Fix of the Atlanta Police Department declined to provide PEOPLE with a timeline for the release of the body-camera footage, but in the press statement the department urged that any such footage, which is “part of a pending homicide investigation,” should not be released “until the investigation is closed.”

The statement continued: “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.”

"We're going to continue to fight for justice all the way to the very end, so we can do justice for our father," Hollman’s daughter, Arnitra Hollman, said, CBS News reported.

For more People news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter!

Read the original article on People.