Update on Homeless Man Killed In Atlanta

The police report APD just released on the death of Cornelius Taylor is sharply at odds with the observations of witnesses.

Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens, speaking Saturday to people experiencing homelessness on Old Wheat Street.

Police released the initial incident report on the death of Cornelius Taylor, who died during a City of Atlanta sweep through a homeless encampment on Old Wheat Street near Ebenezer Baptist Church downtown 10 days ago.

The narrative of Atlanta Police Officer Jonathan Allen, who wrote the report and is listed as the officer in charge, says that Taylor was conscious and had no “other obvious signs of physical hurt” aside from a bloody nose when police came to his aid after equipment scooped up his tent on January 16.

Allen’s differs sharply from the observations of witnesses at the scene, who described blood “dripping” from the ruined tent, some of which was still visible on the street days later.

"Hell no," said Woody Johnson, who was on the scene when Taylor died. "That shit will tear your ass up." Johnson confirmed that the police officer pulled Taylor out of the tent by the hands, and that he performed CPR. He could not confirm if Taylor said anything, and was skeptical that he could speak, but was too far away to hear, he said.

But the blood was obvious. A Grady EMT on the scene told Johnson that Taylor was bleeding pretty bad.

“When I seen the blood, it was big-ass puddles of blood,” Johnson said. “It took three days to dry up, man. We were sticking sticks down there to see if it’s drying. That shit was dripping off the tent.”

The report narrative:

On January 16th, 2025 at around 1130 hours, I was at Old Wheat Street and Jackson, assisting The Atlanta Department of Public Works with a Homeless Encampment Cleanup. We had been tasked with assisting them on account of in the past, some of the Homeless had attacked some of the workers, and we were there to provide protection to the Employees of the City of Atlanta and also to assist as needed with any of the Homeless that needed assistance getting access to resources.

At this particular time, I observed the large earth-moving machine that is customarily used at these types of cleanups take some of the debris and trash that was down the street away. After the driver backed up, I went down on the sidewalk to try and spread the ashes of a burn barrel around to the smoke would dissipate and the workers would be able to continue the work without any sort of fire risk.

While I went down there, I saw a black male waving at me from a tent near where the machine had just removed the trash. I approached the male, and checked on him. I asked the Zone Dispatcher to start me an ambulance, and I gave what information I could when I could give it. He was in clear distress, and I saw that he had a bloody nose. I did not see any other obvious signs of physical hurt, but when I asked him questions, he said that something had fallen on him. I asked him if he could move, and he said he could, so I offered to help pull him out. He gave me his hands, and we pulled him out together. I had his body mostly out from under the collapsed tent he had been in, and I asked him his name. I could not understand all of it, but I know it starts with a "K", something like Kaneeis, and his last name was Taylor.

After I got his name, he declined quickly, and I was unable to get much more out of him. His breathing decreased, and he was emitting a foam out of his mouth.

I stayed with him, trying to keep him awake until Grady came. I conducted a sternal rub and checking for a pulse while we waited.

Grady Unit 728 took him by ambulance to Grady, where he was pronounced dead.

Witnesses met with Mayor Andre Dickens on Saturday when he observed the site of Taylor’s death and spoke to people experiencing homelessness there. One of those witnesses, Gus Hendricks, told Dickens that people on the site had tried to warn workers that Taylor remained in his tent, something Dickens said he was unaware of.

“That's why I came out here today, to kind of understand what they were dealing with then and what they're dealing with now,” he said.

Atlanta’s initial communication after Taylor’s death said “The homicide unit responded to the scene and will be the lead on this death investigation.” Police said the report would take seven to ten days to release, which is uncharacteristically long, even when there’s a city-involved death.

But witnesses said that Atlanta’s homicide detectives have not spoken to them in the hours — and days — following Taylor’s death. “APD has standards that are governed by how you conduct investigations, which are far beyond what I would ever know,” Dickens said. “I'm not a police officer. I'm not certified to even, you know, comment about how they do investigations, I would say that you should expect that they're going to do the most thorough job of investigation, just like they do with any other crime that they come across.”

Bodyworn camera footage is available but will not be released until the investigation has concluded, police said. APD initially said they would try to retrieve 911 audio from the incident; the public affairs unit has just informed me that this, too, will be withheld.

Two supplemental reports appear to have been filed. These reports are not subject to the Georgia Open Records Act until the investigation is concluded.

The report identifies the driver of the vehicle. The report does not identify anyone else who was at the scene; neither the social workers, nor other APD officers, nor city workers, nor whoever was in charge from the Department of Public Works. I’m going to spare that driver some grief until I’m given a reason to believe he’s the one to blame.

Willie A. Watkins Funeral Home is handling arrangements for Taylor. Donations can be made directly with them, at 404-758-1731.

This post may be updated as more information becomes available.