Family sues nonprofits after bulldozer kills homeless man in Atlanta

The family of a homeless man who died after a bulldozer crushed his tent during an Atlanta encampment sweep last year has filed a lawsuit against two nonprofits, the Associated Press reported Friday.

The suit names Partners for HOME and SafeHouse Outreach, arguing that employees failed to check whether the man, Taylor, was in his tent before a bulldozer was deployed to clear the encampment. The lawsuit says the bulldozer flattened the tent while he was in it and left blood on the street.

Taylor, 46, lived in an encampment on Old Wheat Street in Atlanta, near Ebenezer Baptist Church, where Martin Luther King Jr. had preached. AP reported that city officials asked for the encampment to be cleared ahead of celebrations for the King holiday last January, at a time when the area was set to host annual events honoring him.

Partners for HOME is the city’s lead agency on homelessness, while SafeHouse Outreach is another Atlanta nonprofit that serves unhoused people, AP said. The lawsuit contends the organizations should have known to check Taylor’s tent after they conducted outreach at the site in advance.

Cathryn Vassell, the CEO of Partners for HOME, told AP that the nonprofit could not comment on the lawsuit because it had not seen it, but said it was committed to its mission. Vassell said the nonprofit is “committed to its mission making homelessness in Atlanta rare, brief and nonrecurring.” SafeHouse Outreach did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment, AP reported.

AP said Taylor’s family previously sued the city of Atlanta in July, alleging city employees also should have checked whether Taylor was in his tent. Taylor’s death prompted outrage among local advocates and neighbors, who said the city’s encampment-clearing policies were inhumane and pointed to what they called a dire affordable housing shortage that makes it “inevitable” that people end up living on the streets.

AP reported that right after Taylor’s death, the city put a temporary moratorium on encampment sweeps. With the FIFA World Cup coming to Atlanta in the summer, the city later resumed clearing encampments, with a stated goal of eliminating all homelessness in the downtown area before then.

According to AP, Vassell said Partners for HOME is close to its goal of housing 400 people ahead of the World Cup. The suit filed Friday seeks unspecified damages as well as compensation for medical and hospital bills, burial costs, attorney’s fees and litigation costs.

Harold Spence, a lawyer representing the family, said at a news conference that city officials and nonprofit employees did not want “dignitaries” attending the Martin Luther King Jr. event to see the encampment. Spence said, “They were in a rush to remove it,” and, “Unfortunately, it turned out they were willing to remove it at any cost.” He also said Taylor had recently secured a job and was ready to “turn his life around.”