ATLANTA — The City of Atlanta is being named in a civil lawsuit by the family of a homeless man who died when a city worker ran over his tent while clearing an encampment.
Channel 2’s Michael Doudna was at a news conference on Friday where the family announced the lawsuit.
It has been just over six months since Cornelius Taylor died, and his family says the pain is just as fresh.
“I cried for over an hour. He called every Sunday,” Taylor’s sister Darlene Chaney said.
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In the lawsuit, the family alleges that, in an effort to clear up signs of homelessness ahead of Martin Luther King Jr. festivities, no one checked Taylor’s tent for signs of life and drove over it, crushing him.
“We’re here just because someone, in my own personal opinion, was lazy. They chose not to fulfill the obligations of their job by checking to see that my brother was there,” Chaney said.
Cities typically have some immunity to protect them from these types of lawsuits.
But attorneys for the family say those protections don’t cover them when they show neglect or have improper performance while conducting what is known as ministerial duty, such as keeping streets clear.
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"When you hear a set of facts about a tragedy or calamity that has occurred, you think, ‘This is wrong, and there has to be a legal remedy,’" attorney Harold Spence said.
The family says the lawsuit is just one part of holding the city accountable.
They want to see better services for those like her brother to make sure this doesn’t happen again.
“This isn’t about the lawsuit. It never was about the lawsuit. This was about trying to make sure this doesn’t happen again,” Chaney said.
Channel 2 Action News reached out to the City of Atlanta for comment and they said,
“The incident involving Mr. Taylor was a tragedy; however, it would be inappropriate to comment on any potential pending litigation.”
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