Citizen Review Board to APD: Reprimand officer for excessive force, false imprisonment

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What comes next is disputed: Washington, a 36-year-old minister, claims Atlanta Police Department Officer David Holleman pulled out his gun and pointed it at Washington’s chest. The officer, however, says his firearm was out, but not pointed at Washington.

“I just remember saying, ‘Please don’t kill me, please don’t kill me,’” Washington told Creative Loafing.

Last week the Atlanta Citizen Review Board, an independent investigative body tasked with examining allegations of police misconduct, sustained Washington’s allegations of excessive force and false imprisonment against the APD officer and recommended the department issue a written reprimand. The findings and recommendations from the 7-month investigation will be handed over to the police department, where APD Chief George Turner will either accept or reject ACRB’s findings.

For Washington, who has spent the past year pushing for justice, the findings validate what he says have been several sleepless nights and countless hours of advocacy.

“I’m glad that the truth has been revealed — it’s been a long time coming. But there’s far much more to go,” Washington says. “The courts and also many people will take the side of the officer more than it would the civilian, so I’m glad they did see the side of the civilian in this matter.”

According to the investigative file, on the day of the incident, a dispatcher notified Holleman and fellow Officer David Duncan of an alleged aggravated assault on a woman in the English Avenue neighborhood. The dispatcher said the suspect was described as a short, stocky black male.

While Washington more or less fits the description of short and stocky, and is a black male, the dispatcher also said the suspect was described as having tattoos on his face and neck. Washington has no tattoos.

Holleman claimed he saw Washington walking down the street about a block from the site of the assault, and, according to the dispatcher transcript, already had doubts about Washington being the suspect.

“Be advised there’s an irate male out here wearing a fur coat. It’s not gonna be him,” Holleman told the dispatcher as they discussed the suspect’s description.

When recounting to the ACRB investigator the description of the suspect they were looking for, Holleman did not mention a black coat was part of the description. But Duncan, who arrived on the scene partway through the incident, did. Duncan was asked by the dispatcher to confirm whether or not Washington had tattoos — perhaps the most critical piece of the suspect's description — but the request went ignored and Holleman proceeded to stop him. (One of ACRB’s three recommendations to APD is to look into whether the 911 dispatcher violated policies when providing the officers with “incomplete subject demographic information” in the call.)

The situation devolved rather quickly from the beginning, according to accounts. Holleman, who was driving a patrol car, stopped Washington and accused him of matching the suspect's description, which Washington denied. When Holleman got out of the squad car, Washington lifted up his phone in the hope, he says, that the officer would fear publicity of the incident he calls profiling.

It’s at this point that Holleman says he “believes” he was holding his weapon out, but pointed toward the ground, not at Washington. Two witnesses claim they saw Holleman pointing his gun at Washington, and that Washington was unarmed and with both hands in the air, holding his cell phone in one.

Washington claims he refused Holleman’s request to search him, to which the officer allegedly responded, “I'm not playing with you.” Holleman then threw him against the car, Washington says. He says he was held bent over the squad car with his hands behind his back. Police reports confirm he was detained for approximately five minutes.

Betty Gates, the assault victim who knew the identity of the attacker, confronted the two officers as they were searching Washington and told them they had apprehended the wrong person. Washington and one witness claim the officers continued their search despite Gates’ information. Holleman’s statement says Washington was frisked but never searched, and when Gates approached, he and Duncan immediately left the scene.

Washington and one witness also dispute this account. Washington claims it was only when more passersby approached the scene that the officers “ran off,” and both Washington and one witness say the officers refused to provide their names.

Holleman says in his APD statement that he thinks his dashboard camera was recording, and Washington claims the officer referred to the device in response to seeing the minister with his phone out. Requests to APD for dashboard camera footage of the incident have been unsuccessful — APD records say none exists.

After officers left, Washington attempted to file a complaint for the incident to the officers’ supervisor, Sgt. Anthony Moore. Moore opted not to do so, telling the investigators, “there was no need. I did not foresee that event escalating to the point that it did. It happens on many occasions.” Moore’s decision not to file a complaint was listed by ACRB as another reason the oversight body sustained Washington’s allegations.

APD Spokeswoman Elizabeth Espy said the Office of Professional Standards, the department's unit that handles internal affairs investigations, exonerated Holleman in the incident. Espy was unable to confirm as CL went to press if Turner "has sent a letter to the ACRB responding to the fact that what they found contrary to what we found." 

Ken Allen, the president of Atlanta's police union, directed CL to the police union's regional organization to inquire whether Holleman was assisted by the organization. Vince Champion, the regional director of the National Association of Government Employees' southeast chapter, says his organization was not involved in Holleman's case.  

Washington says his effort — “a battle,” he says — to validate his claims was worth it, and that he’s glad he filed the complaint. “It’s unfortunate,” he says. “You have what’s been taught that because an officer is an officer that took an oath to protect the community by which he lives and by which he’s been entrusted into, that he would not break the law, not do things of that manner.”

It’s unclear what impact the Citizens’ Review Board findings have on actually changing APD practices. Of the 10 allegations of excessive force sustained by the ACRB against APD officers last year, none have been accepted by the department to date.

“Unfortunately the way the Atlanta City Code is written, even though the ACRB can find the allegation, it doesn’t mean the officer is going to be subject to discipline by APD,” says Gerry Weber, senior staff counsel at the Southern Center for Human Rights and an expert on police-citizen interactions. “The chief can disagree with the ACRB's findings.”

NOTE: This post has been altered to clarify Washington's claim that he lifted up his phone and pointed it at Holleman when the officer stepped out of his car. It has also been updated to note that IBPO was not involved in Holleman's defense.