AFRO Staff Writer
Baltimore City Inspector General (IG) Isabel Mercedes Cumming has filed suit against Mayor Brandon M. Scott and the Baltimore City Council after the city denied her office access to certain records and provided heavily redacted information in response to subpoenas. The suit seeks a court declaration confirming the Office of the Inspector General’s (OIG) independence and subpoena power under the Baltimore City Charter, as well as injunctive relief prohibiting interference with its investigations.
The action came on Feb. 24, weeks after the city of Baltimore announced that state confidentiality laws supersede local authority and limit the OIG’s access to certain records on Feb. 6.
Cumming alleged that she had direct access to information from city offices since 2018. But, in June 2025, she claimed the city abruptly restricted that access and asserted for the first time that OIG subpoenas must be treated as requests under the Maryland Public Information Act (PIA)…