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Man Hit by Car Driven by Census Taker Gets Day in Court

August 18, 2005

The people who take surveys for the Census Bureau say they're trained to be "pleasantly persistent" in getting citizens to answer their questions. Thomas Martinez says one of them went way beyond that. Now, he's working with prosecutors, hoping a court will find that a Census Bureau field representative relentlessly hounded him.

The case, outlined during a hearing in federal court, raises questions about how far the government should go in its pursuit for accurate and consistent information. "Doesn't a citizen at some point have a right to say 'Get off my back?' " Colorado U.S. District Judge Edward Nottingham asked. "If a citizen chooses not to cooperate for whatever reason, isn't that the end of it?"

Martinez alleges that Census Bureau field representative Susan Dyck chased him around his rental duplex in Wheat Ridge, copied his cell phone number from his "For Rent" sign, telephoned him at 10:19 p.m. when he was at home in bed, visited his property a second time and finally hit him with her car as she drove away after he told her he was calling the police.

"She kind of gave off this air of being that of police authority, you know, like, 'You're going to answer these questions,' " Martinez testified. "I didn't like that." Dyck, 53, has been charged in Jefferson County Court with misdemeanor assault, misdemeanor harassment and two traffic offenses - careless driving and leaving the scene of an accident involving an injury.

Before those issues can be resolved, Nottingham will have to decide whether the case should be handled in state or federal court. Dyck was a federal employee, on the job, when the incidents allegedly occurred.

Martinez said his encounters with Dyck started in November 2004 when she and a colleague walked into the living room of his rental house as he was standing on a ladder, painting. Dyck was a field representative, contacting people at randomly assigned addresses to ask a series of questions known as the Current Population Survey.

Census Bureau Regional Coordinator Paul McAllister testified that the Current Population Survey involves contacting people at the same addresses once a month for four months. The most important information gathered in the survey is the unemployment rate, he said. McAllister said survey takers must speak with people at the assigned addresses face-to-face the first month, but can telephone them for subsequent contact. Survey takers are expected to get answers from 88 to 90 percent of the people. When people won't cooperate, he said, survey takers are supposed to explain the survey, send a letter with more information, contact the residents again and, as a last resort, try to get the information from someone else - a rental agent or building manager, for instance.

Martinez said he agreed, after some coaxing, to spend five or 10 minutes answering questions. "I had to get back to work," Martinez said. "I said I didn't have time for this right now, just send me something . . ." McAllister said survey takers aren't allowed to send the questions to people in the mail. Martinez said he received a phone call from someone with the Census Bureau a few months later, and again said he was too busy. Then, on the night of Feb. 13, he said Dyck phoned him at 10:19 p.m. "I just came unglued," Martinez said. "I advised her that I will be notifying the authorities. She says . . . 'Oh, well, it's not that late.' "

A Denver police officer came to Martinez's home and stood by while he left a phone message for Dyck, telling her not to call him or return to his property. But Dyck, who has said she didn't get the message before visiting Martinez's duplex again, returned the next afternoon. She did not have her Census Bureau credentials and said later that she had stopped by after a medical appointment. Martinez, furious, went to the end of his driveway to flag down a Wheat Ridge police officer. He said he told Dyck to stay where she was, but she got in her car and backed down the driveway. McAllister testified that survey takers are told to leave if they feel endangered.

Martinez, turning and seeing that Dyck's car was backing toward him, put out his left hand to stop her. "She hit me," he testified. He banged on her car with his fist to let her know he was there, he said. "She kind of stopped, then pushed me out in the middle of 29th (Avenue). I almost got hit by (an oncoming) car," Martinez testified. "She wanted out of there."

Dyck's lawyer accused Martinez of seeking a criminal conviction to bolster a future lawsuit. Martinez has hired a personal injury lawyer.

Weisz said Dyck was conducting herself as the Census Bureau had trained her to do. He acknowledged that telephoning Martinez at 10:19 p.m. was a mistake, and that going to his property without her Census Bureau credentials was a mistake. But, he said, the law requires a decision on whether Dyck's conduct as a federal employee was "necessary and proper," not whether it was right or wrong. Nottingham plans to issue a written ruling about where the case should proceed.