Atlanta mayor urges temporary halt to clearing homeless encampments after death

ATLANTA - Mayor Andre Dickens is calling for a temporary pause on the clearing of homeless encampments after a man died during a closure earlier this month. 49-year-old Cornelius Taylor was killed after witnesses say an Atlanta City Public Works truck ran over his tent while clearing an area on Old Wheat Street.

Mayor Andre Dickens posted a video on his Instagram account on Friday night, promising change, and an overarching review of city policy after this tragic incident.

What we know:

After public outcry after the death of 49-year-old Cornelius Taylor, who was killed while crews were clearing a homeless camp near Ebenezer Baptist Church and the King Center, Mayor Andre Dickens is calling for change.

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"Every life in this city matters to me. While we are still gathering all the facts, this terrible accident expresses the need to reevaluate and reassess our city's policies concerning homeless encampments and how we can better our unhoused population," Mayor Dickens said.

What's next:

Mayor Dickens posted on social media, saying he is working with the Atlanta City Council to address the matter.

"We are working closely with the Atlanta City Council. I have asked District 1 Councilmember Jason Winston to introduce new legislation to review our policies and procedures for encampment closures, rehousing, and how we care for the unsheltered."

"This legislation also includes a temporary moratorium on encampments closures to allow us time to examine our policies and expand our outreach efforts, ensuring that this work can be done safely and that a tragedy like this one never happens again," he said.

The mayor went on to say, while the closures are necessary because the encampments pose a threat to public health and safety, the city will work to make sure nothing like this happens again.

"The loss of Cornelius Taylor was a terrible accident. And we will meet this tragic moment with compassion, with urgency, and with love so it never happens again," the mayor said.

Over the next few weeks, the mayor's office and the city council will identify people to help review their policies, and put new ones in place.