Autopsy Released In Death Of ATL Deacon Tased By Police: Report

ATLANTA, GA — An autopsy report shows an Atlanta deacon who was killed during an Aug. 10 police struggle that included the use of a Taser died of cardiac dysrhythmia, Atlanta News First reported Thursday.

Johnny Hollman was accused of resisting arrest during an incident with an Atlanta police officer at the Cunningham Place/Joseph E. Lowery Boulevard intersection. The officer was at the scene to investigate a crash involving Hollman.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation said in the past the officer attempted to use a Taser on Hollman during the struggle.

"After the officer took Hollman into custody, police determined that Hollman had become unresponsive. Police called EMS personnel, and Hollman was taken to a local hospital, where he died," the GBI said in a past news release.

The GBI investigated the case as use of force.

Citing a Fulton County Medical Examiner's Office autopsy report, ANF said Hollman died of an irregular heartbeat that was due to the use of a “conducted energy device.”

Hollman "had underlying conditions of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), diabetes and obesity," ANF reported.

Attorney Mawuli Davis with the Davis, Bozeman and Johnson Law Firm, representing the family, called video footage of the struggle's aftermath "shocking and sobering" during a past news conference.

Atlanta Police released the following statement Monday:

"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."

Hollman was a deacon and a chairman at Atlanta's Lively Stones of God Ministries.

Read more via Atlanta News First.