Piedmont Park Hanging Officially Ruled a Suicide

Atlanta, GA -- The death of a man found hanging from a Piedmont Park tree last week has been officially ruled a suicide.

The body of Michael George Smith, 22, of New Jersey, was found last Thursday. Initial police reports indicated Smith committed suicide, but immediate social media speculation fueled suspicions that Smith, who was black, had been lynched.

On Tuesday, a report from the Fulton County Medical Examiner obtained by Channel 2 Action News said the cause of death was asphyxiation by hanging, suicide is manner of death.

In their initial report, Atlanta police said it appeared the man had tied a white rope to a thick branch of a tree, and then around his neck and hanged himself.

Mayor Kasim Reed announced Thursday that he has asked the FBI to investigate the man's death. "I am deeply saddened by the loss of a young man's life last night in Piedmont Park," he said in a statement. "This disturbing event demands our full attention."

"We will not prejudge the circumstances," Reed said in response to rumors on social media Thursday that the death was the result of a lynching.

Crisis Resources
If you or someone you know is in crisis, the phone number of the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 800-273-8255. More information is available on the websites of theNational Suicide Prevention Lifeline and the Suicide Prevention Resource Center.

In Fulton County, the local Department of Mental Health has a 24/7 suicide hotline at (404) 730-1600 - for TDD, (404) 730-1608. Another resource is the Georgia chapter of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.

See also:

• Police Release Details on Man Found Hanged in Piedmont Park
• Mayor: No Evidence of Lynching in Man's Death at Atlanta Park