A March report found that messages sent through Microsoft Teams to subordinates and employees at other city agencies violated the city’s Technology Acceptable Use Policy. The Inspector General’s Office said the messages could contribute to a hostile or toxic workplace. Among them were threats to kill a person and to “crack her skull,” with names redacted in the report.

A separate report released in September said Kerney directed a Baltimore City Information Technology official to remove an inspector general investigator’s access to Kerney’s email and documents during an ongoing investigation. The watchdog said the access was authorized under city policy and had been approved annually by the city IT department.

The Inspector General’s Office said it began investigating after employees raised concerns about Kerney’s communications and management style. Investigators encountered policy-violating messages while working on a related case and later found hundreds of messages that violated city policy, the office said.

In emails described in the reporting, Inspector General Isabel Cumming told Mayor Brandon Scott and City Solicitor Ebony Thompson she feared for her safety because of the messages’ “volatility and violent nature.” Cumming wrote that she feared she could be shot and asked that Kerney not be told if administrative action followed an Inspector General report.

Thompson said the administration took Cumming’s safety concerns seriously. She said she contacted the police commissioner, who offered assistance, and that Scott offered parking directly outside City Hall.

The Mayor’s Office and Law Department disputed the Inspector General’s account in a written response to the September report. They said Kerney had raised legitimate concerns about access to her records and could qualify as a protected whistleblower. The response accused the watchdog of retaliation and said Kerney’s request to remove access was not carried out at the time.

The Inspector General’s Office rejected those allegations, saying the investigator’s access was authorized and permissions remained on the accounts to preserve an audit trail.

City Councilman Mark Conway said he was disappointed by the language used in city communications and said employees should expect city accounts to be open to the public and the Inspector General. He said decisions about whether Kerney should remain in her job belong to the administration.

The Mayor’s Office did not respond to questions about whether Kerney still works for the city or, if so, in what capacity.