By Ariyana Griffin
AFRO Staff Writer
agriffin@afro.com
Community and family members came together in front of Baltimore’s City Hall on Nov. 15 to speak on behalf of four Baltimore Department of Public Works (DPW) employees who have died on duty since 2020: Donald Savoy, Trina Cunningham, Ronald Silver II and now, Timothy Cartwell. Advocates say more needs to be done to protect DPW workers.
(Right) Shantae Carroll, Timothy Cartwell’s sister-in-law, demands justice and accountability within the Department of Public Works from employees of all ranks. Cartwell was a DPW worker, killed on Nov. 8 when he became pinned between a work truck and a pole while on duty. Shown here, Thiru Vignarajah (left), Sherrill Savoy, Shantae Carroll, Linda Batts. PHOTO: AFRO Photo/ Ariyana Griffin
Cartwell, the most recent tragedy, died on Friday, Nov. 8, after being crushed in a Baltimore City alleyway. He was transported to the University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center, where he succumbed to his fatal injuries.
Family members of Cartwell, Savoy and Silver stood united as they comforted each other due to their unfortunate shared experience.
Shantae Carroll, Timothy Cartwell’s sister-in-law, spoke on behalf of the family and shared that he was so much more than his title within the DPW.
“My brother-in-law was not just a trash man – my brother-in-law was a man of courage, of good deeds, of love, of support,” said Carroll. “He was kind, gentle, and a man that stood for what was right.”
She asked that everyone “respect these men and women that do a job every single day for us– the people of Baltimore– the jobs that no one really wants to do.”
“I think personally, they are the ones that deserve a high amount of pay – I think they are the ones who deserve to be lifted up and to be respected at the highest level of respect that can be given because they put their lives on the line,” said Carroll.
She urged all employees, with positions high and low, at the Baltimore Department of Public Works to do the right thing and push for change to prevent the loss of another life.
“Do what’s right. Fix what needs to be fixed. Don’t wait another second, don’t wait another minute, don’t wait another hour,” said Carroll. “ We don’t know the day or the hour that something can happen, tragedy can come, and this will happen again.”
Thiru Vignarajah, who is providing counsel for the Savoy and Silver families, spoke about the importance of things changing and the reality that it is not happening fast enough.
“We have here the wife of Mr. Savoy, the family of Timothy Cartwell, the mother and family of Ronald Silver II,” said Vignarajah. “As I saw them bury their heads in one another’s shoulders, I thought, ‘does this make it better, or does it make it worse?…That they are not alone.”
Community members expressed their gratitude for sanitation workers and the hard work that they do every day to help serve their community. They stressed that they deserve better work environments with safer protocols. Linda Batts, former DPW employee and community activist, shared that change is long overdue.
“Shortly after the loss of Mr. Silver, DPW’s news director committed to critically examining DPW’s policies and practices to ensure that the workplace is safe – as they dedicate themselves to serving the city of Baltimore,” said Batts.
“Yet, less than three short months following that statement, another DPW employee, Timothy Cardwell, dies in the line of duty. Leaving his family to grieve and seek answers from a city that has had three previous opportunities to correct unsafe practices. Let’s be clear, and let’s not be divided- we appear to be dealing with a pattern of neglect and failure by leaders and supervisors charged with carrying out their duties.”
According to a statement released by DPW, “The circumstances surrounding Mr. Cartwell’s injuries are under investigation by the Baltimore Police Department.”
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