Family of man crushed at homeless encampment sues city of Atlanta

Matt Reynolds, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Jul 18, 2025

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ATLANTA — The surviving family members of Cornelius Taylor, the man killed during a city sweep of a homeless encampment, on Friday filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against the city of Atlanta.

The 46-year-old unhoused man was crushed by a Department of Public Works vehicle during a Jan. 16 clearing of an encampment on Old Wheat Street in the Sweet Auburn neighborhood, as it rushed to clear the camp before the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebrations.

The encampment is close to the Ebenezer Baptist Church, where King delivered sermons.

Taylor, who witnesses said was inside his tent at the time of the accident, was pronounced dead at Grady Memorial Hospital.

The family made the lawsuit announcement during a Friday afternoon news conference at the law office of Davis Bozeman Johnson Law in Decatur, where they unveiled a copy of the filing they said had been filed Friday in the Fulton County Superior court.

A statement from the family said they are seeking justice for Taylor’s “preventable and unjustified” death and the city’s failure to inspect his tent. Plaintiffs in the case are Darlene Chaney, as administrator of Taylor’s estate, and son Justin Taylor Garrett.

“A simple visual inspection of a few seconds’ duration would have revealed Mr. Taylor’s sleeping presence inside the tent and prevented a fatal tragedy,” attorney Harold Spence said in the statement.

Mayor Andre Dickens’ press secretary Michael Smith said in a statement “the incident involving Mr. Taylor was a tragedy” but that he could not comment on any pending litigation.

After Taylor’s death, Old Wheat Street became a flashpoint for the city’s policies on homelessness, with a coalition formed in his memory demanding changes to a strategy it has called dangerous, ineffective and inhumane.

In response, Mayor Dickens convened a Homelessness Needs Task Force, which published its findings in June. Its recommendations included new protocols and the use of thermal sensors to ensure tents are vacant before heavy machinery moves in to clear a camp.

The family and their attorneys have been critical of an Atlanta Police Department’s initial police incident report suggesting Taylor may have overdosed on drugs and that the responding officer “did not see any other obvious signs” of injuries, aside from a bloody nose.

Officials have stressed that the initial incident report was not a death investigation report, which detectives would be handling and would presumably reveal more details.

In March, a Fulton County medical examiner released an autopsy report finding blunt force trauma to Taylor’s abdomen and pelvis and ruling his death accidental. The report said his injuries were consistent with a construction vehicle like a bulldozer running him over or hitting him.

Last week, the city cleared the Old Wheat Street encampment a second time, with help from the Justice for Cornelius Taylor Coalition, which moved people from the camp into temporary housing at an apartment complex called Welcome House.

Taylor’s cousins Darlene Chaney and Derek Chaney are part of the coalition.

“The family’s initial focus was assisting and advocating for the humane and dignified relocation of Mr. Taylor’s unhoused brothers and sisters into housing,” attorney Mawuli Mel Davis said. “While that work continues, the next step towards full justice for Cornelius Taylor is holding all parties accountable under civil law.”