A U.S. census worker is accused of so persistently harassing a homeowner to answer questions for a survey that he began shouting at her, which caused the census worker to flee and hit the homeowner with her car.
Susan Dyck, 53, a field worker for the Census Bureau, faces four misdemeanor charges of assault, leaving the scene of an accident with injury, careless driving and harassment, according to documents filed in U.S. District Court in Denver.
Dyck had repeatedly visited a Wheat Ridge home owned by 41-year-old Thomas Martinez, according to court records.
She was trying to get him to complete the Current Population Survey, used to compile labor force and unemployment statistics.
Martinez contends he repeatedly told her he wasn’t interested in participating in the survey, yet she continued to contact him, once calling him at 10:30 p.m., according to a police report.
On Feb. 14, Dyck showed up at the house she was trying to survey, a rental property that Martinez owned. Martinez told authorities he stood behind her car and told her not to leave because he was calling police, but that she backed up and hit him.
He suffered minor injuries, according to the police report, and did not seek immediate medical attention.
In an affidavit filed with the court, Dyck said she was merely trying to do her job and was looking at the house to verify it was vacant when Martinez arrived and became aggressive and hostile.
“Fearing for my safety, I got into my vehicle and left the property,” the affidavit said. “I backed out of the property slowly and carefully and did not hit anyone with my vehicle.”
Police contacted Dyck’s manager, who said that field workers are encouraged to be “pushy” and that they are required to maintain a cooperation level of 90 percent or greater.
However, they aren’t supposed to call people late at night or persist in contacting people who are not interested in participating, the manager told Wheat Ridge police.
On Thursday, Dyck entered a not-guilty plea to the charges, according to court records.
Staff writer Alicia Caldwell can be reached at acaldwell@denverpost.com or 303- 820-1930.