Years before Baltimore Department of Transportation employee Gregory Turnipseed was beaten on the job and later died, the union representing him had been calling attention to workplace violence and asking lawmakers to do more to address it.

The violence against city workers happens “more than the public is aware,” said Antoinette Ryan-Johnson, president of the City Union of Baltimore, which represents roughly 3,000 city employees.

Ryan-Johnson cited the plight of traffic enforcement officers who have had objects thrown at them while writing tickets and housing inspectors who have been jumped by people carrying weapons.

“People are going to work to do their jobs and serve the citizens of Baltimore City, and, unfortunately, all too often they are assaulted, sworn at,” Ryan-Johnson said. “It becomes problematic and very stressful when you go to work at the beginning of the day and you don’t know if you’re going to make it home at the end of the day in the way that you went to work.”

Turnipseed, a 14-year veteran of the city transportation department, died last week about a month after trying to intervene in an argument over a parking spot in downtown Baltimore. He last served as a traffic investigator, a role that can entail reviewing the flow of traffic on city streets as part of possible tweaks to signal timing or other changes.

His death has now reignited calls to offer greater protections from violence for city workers.

“This has to stop. And we have to ensure that employees … are safe," said Ryan-Johnson. “What are we going to do to make sure his life was not in vain? That has to come out of City Hall.”

The city’s transportation department and a representative of Mayor Brandon Scott have not responded to requests for additional comment on the union’s criticism Tuesday.

Over the weekend, police announced that a 49-year-old woman from Northeast Baltimore, Kiannah Bonaparte, had been arrested and charged with first- and second-degree assault after the incident. Law enforcement officials said new charges could be lodged against Bonaparte in the wake of Turnipseed’s death.

Bonaparte is scheduled to appear on Dec. 11 for a preliminary hearing, according to court records. She’s being held without bond.

Officials said that an autopsy to determine his cause of death will be conducted, and stressed that the case remains an active investigation.

Ryan-Johnson said city and state leaders must do more.

In the past, she said, the union has lobbied for new laws that would allow for similar penalties against those convicted for assaulting a police officer to be extended to an assault on any city employee.

Those proposals, including bills to make assaulting a transportation enforcement officer a felony, failed to become law. Even if the bill had passed, it may not have applied to Turnipseed‘s assault, as he was a traffic investigator, not an enforcement officer writing tickets. It remains unclear what job he was performing at the time of the October altercation.

Mark Conway, chairman of the City Council’s public safety committee, said he supports the concerns raised by the union.

“I’ve had the ability to do ride-alongs with traffic enforcement and meter maids,” said Conway, who is considering holding a legislative hearing to listen to union leaders and members directly about their safety concerns. “Anything we can do to alleviate those concerns is worthwhile, and certainly something I’d consider.”

Banner reporter Dylan Segelbaum contributed to this story