Baltimore Inspector General Isabel Mercedes Cumming filed a lawsuit Tuesday against the city, alleging its government launched an “unprecedented attack” on her office’s independence in a dispute over access to records.

The lawsuit filed in Baltimore’s Circuit Court seeks a declaration confirming the Office of the Inspector General’s independence and subpoena authority under the city charter. It also seeks injunctive relief to “prevent interference with the OIG’s investigations and confidential systems,” the office said in a news release.

“I am in the middle of an investigation and they are not allowing me to move forward,” Cumming said in an interview on WYPR. “We can no longer do the job the citizens gave us.”

In a statement, Mayor Brandon Scott’s office said they would not comment on the pending litigation but stressed their commitment to transparency and to an effective inspector general’s office that complies with the law.

Cumming has been engaged in a fight with Scott’s administration, which recently took several steps to limit her access to city records. Cumming said it’s the first time in two decades that the city has asserted such a position and that it goes against the city charter.

At the center of the dispute is the Mayor’s Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement, or MONSE, and a youth diversion program called SideStep, which has drawn scrutiny from Baltimore State’s Attorney Ivan Bates and was part of his decision to sever ties with MONSE.

Cumming was frustrated by the city’s redactions of subpoenaed documents, and city attorneys said the redactions complied with the Maryland Public Information Act and another law that protects the identities of juveniles. Meanwhile, Cumming says the city has failed to respond at all to a subpoena seeking other information.

Late last month, Scott’s staff announced it was eliminating Cumming’s access to city legal records after the discovery that a member of her staff had “unfettered” access to a city attorney’s documents. The administration argued that the access was a violation of attorney-client and work product privileges.

The Scott administration then announced it was restricting Cumming’s access to a wide swath of other documents.

The mayor’s office said its response was based in part on advice from a lawyer inside Maryland’s Office of the Attorney General. But Attorney General Anthony Brown has downplayed the significance of the advice.

In the lawsuit filed Tuesday, attorneys representing the inspector general’s office said the city’s “sudden departure from longstanding practices has effectively gutted the OIG’s authority and ability to act independently, free from political influence.”

Cumming has said that she asked the city for outside counsel and was rebuffed. She then sought and received approval from her oversight board to retain pro bono representation to take action in court.

This story may be updated.