ATLANTA — As the family of Cornelius Taylor said their final goodbyes, the Atlanta City Council considered legislation to prevent more deaths like his from happening.
Taylor was killed in mid-January when a City of Atlanta Public Works truck cleared a homeless encampment near Ebenezer Baptist Church.
Tragically, Taylor was still inside a tent at the time and was killed.
In response to Taylor’s death, which happened just before Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday, city leaders urged action to prevent similar incidents from happening again.
“The loss of Cornelius Taylor earlier this month is an absolute tragedy. In response, I introduced legislation to create a task force and to conduct a full review of the city’s policies on serving the unhoused population. I am committed to working with the Mayor’s office to ensure we have policies in place which fully protect the unhoused,” City Council Member Jason Winston said in a statement.
Taylor’s family held the funeral service at Ebenezer Baptist Church then walked behind a horse-drawn carriage with his casket from the church to the steps of City Hall.
[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]
RELATED STORIES:
- Atlanta City Council to vote on moratorium for homeless encampment sweeps after man’s death
- Atlanta City Council to vote on creation of Homelessness Task Force after Cornelius Taylor death
- Atlanta rethinks clearing homeless camps after a man is crushed inside his tent
- Atlanta mayor calls for moratorium on homeless encampment sweeps, organizers want more done
- City Council subcommittee votes to change protocol for sweeping homeless encampments
- Protestors want sweeps of homeless camps stopped after man killed by City of Atlanta bulldozer
- ‘Tragic incident’ involving Atlanta Department of Public Works vehicle and unhoused person
At the funeral, Darlene Chaney, Taylor’s sister, honored her brother.
“For so long you were invisible to so many people. You longed for people to just acknowledge your presence with more than just disgust,” Chaney said. “You’re not invisible anymore. In life, you may have felt like you didn’t matter, but in death, you are making a change for what I aim to be the entire homeless community.”
His death sparked outrage and demands for change. At Monday’s city council meeting, legislation was proposed to put a halt on clearing encampments, and more broadly, create a task force to find new, more innovative solutions for the city’s homeless.
The city council passed both pieces of legislation during the meeting.
Going forward, there will be a pause on all encampment sweeps in Atlanta for 45 days. Separately, the task force will be put together with 33 members who will work to provide a report on the current situation in the city to Mayor Andre Dickens and the City Council within 45 days, and a second with ideas for solutions within 90 days.
Atlanta City Council Member Michael Julian Bond told Channel 2′s Michael Doudna he plans to introduce additional legislation to better address issues in the city.
[SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
©2025 Cox Media Group
