Unanswered questions over death of black man found hanging from tree in Atlanta

Piedmont Park

The FBI is investigating the death of a black man who was found dead hanging from a tree in Piedmont Park Atlanta early on Thursday morning.

The police report released Friday, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, suggests the hanging was a suicide, but leaves questions.

While hanging from the tree, the man had a backpack around his waist and earbuds in his ears, according to the report.

Police said he “appeared to be clean cut and well dressed.”

The report also noted that the man had marks on the front of his pants and light pollen on the front of his shirt, which suggests he could have climbed the tree.

Next to the tree was a large garbage can with shoe prints on the top. Police said the shoe prints looked fresh and were the same pattern as the shoes the man had on.

Atlanta police spokesman Donald Hannah there “were no discernible signs of a struggle or foul play.”

Hannah noted that a medical examiner in Atlanta’s Fulton County had agreed that the death “was consistent with a suicide.”

Activists and people on social media, however, speculated that the hanging might have been a lynching. The hashtag #PiedmontParkHanging trended on Twitter on Thursday night in the US.