It’s been a year since Cornelius Taylor, a man experiencing homelessness in the Sweet Auburn neighborhood, was crushed and killed after an Atlanta Department of Public Works front loader bulldozed over a tent while he was still inside.
After the tragedy, the optics for the city couldn’t have been worse, as Taylor’s death on Jan. 16, 2025, became a flashpoint for the city’s treatment of its unhoused population.
It later emerged that the Department of Public Works was rushing to clear Old Wheat Street in time for Martin Luther King, Jr. weekend celebrations and, according to the lawsuit filed by Taylor’s family, workers were under pressure to quickly clear the street in time.
In the year since Taylor died, the city has amended its homelessness policy, including the introduction of tent checks using thermal imaging technology and a more judicious use of heavy machinery to clear encampments.
When the city moved to again clear the Old Wheat Street encampment months after Taylor’s death, it did so with the cooperation of The Justice for Cornelius Taylor Coalition, whose members organized with caseworkers and officials to transport people from the camp into permanent supportive housing at Welcome House — an aging apartment complex just south of downtown.
Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez
Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez
But on Friday’s anniversary, Taylor’s cousin, Darlene Chaney, said the family still wants its day in court and that she remains in the dark about who was operating the front loader that killed him.
She has not seen body-worn camera footage of the incident, if it exists, or a full investigative report.
In October 2025, Chaney, as administrator of Taylor’s estate, and Taylor’s son, Justin Taylor Garrett, filed a lawsuit alleging city officials neglected their “ministerial” duties by failing to check the tent before Taylor was killed. The lawsuit seeks unspecified punitive damages.
The city, however, has filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit, arguing that officials were undertaking a governmental function and are shielded from the family’s claims by sovereign or governmental immunity.
“It seems like a lack of accountability, or a failure to claim accountability,” Chaney said of the city’s decision to try to dismiss the lawsuit. “There’s no making it right, but there is a form of accountability that can take place.”
The mayor’s office did not respond to the AJC’s questions about the complaint, or the status of a full investigative report.
Mayor Andre Dickens acknowledged Taylor’s death at a news conference Thursday where he urged Fulton County to fund supportive housing wraparound services for chronically unhoused people in the city.
“As we stand here today, it’s not lost on me that we’re here on the anniversary of the unfortunate death and tragedy of Cornelius Taylor,” Dickens said.
Tim Franzen, part of The Justice for Cornelius Taylor Coalition, credited the city for helping people get into Welcome House.
But he said the intense public scrutiny on that single encampment exposed holes in the city’s homelessness policy, including an over reliance on temporary shelters and inadequate wraparound services.
Partners for HOME helps implement the city’s homelessness policies and said late last year it was halfway toward its goal of housing people downtown ahead of the FIFA World Cup. But Franzen fears the city could repeat the same mistakes if it rushes to clear remaining encampments before the global soccer tournament games come to town.
“What crushed Cornelius was this urgency around the race to clear this eyesore for a big, important community event … and this feels like a citywide version of that,” he said.
Credit: Ben Hendren
Credit: Ben Hendren
District 2 Council member Kelsea Bond said the city owes the public a comprehensive report, and should conduct an independent review if someone dies during a city-led clearing in the future. Bond uses they/them pronouns.
“If any other person had been killed using city equipment, there would have been much more accountability, much more transparency around what happened,” said Bond, adding they are considering introducing legislation to rename Old Wheat St. in Taylor’s honor.
Credit: Daniel Varnado/For the Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Credit: Daniel Varnado/For the Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Chaney told the AJC she would celebrate Taylor’s memory at several events scheduled for MLK weekend, and said her cousin should not just be defined by the circumstances of his death or how he was living.
“This could be any of our family members,” Chaney said. “He wasn’t just this homeless man that nobody cared for. He knew he had loved ones and he loved people, [and he] was loved.”
About the Author
Keep Reading
The Latest
Featured
