ATLANTA — The family of a homeless man who died after a bulldozer crushed his tent during an encampment sweep sued the city of Atlanta on Friday over his death, calling it “tragic and preventable.”
The lawsuit filed by Cornelius Taylor’s sister and son alleges that city employees failed to look to see if there was anyone inside the tents in the encampment before using a bulldozer to clear it. Taylor, 46, was inside one of the tents and was crushed by the truck when his tent was flattened, the lawsuit says.
City officials had called for the clearing of the encampment in preparation for the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. The encampment was blocks away from Ebenezer Baptist Church, where King had preached. An autopsy report later revealed Taylor’s pelvic bone had been broken and that he suffered damage to organs and internal bleeding.
“A tent that was occupied