MIDDLETOWN – A US Census worker visiting a home in Middletown on Thursday reportedly got into a scuffle with a man who didn't want to answer a questionnaire.

Capt. James Bauman of the Lake County Sheriff's Office said the two men were involved in a physical fight but no arrests were made.

The US Census Bureau reported last week that its enumerators were beginning to go door to door in order to count people who hadn't responded by mailing back their census forms, as Lake County News has reported.

Bauman said that the census worker went to the home and asked to get the resident's information. The resident, in turn, told the census worker to go away, that he was too busy to talk to him.

The census worker reportedly said no, and asked to get the man's name and information, Bauman said.

When the worker took down the resident's name, the resident demanded the paper, saying his information was confidential. When the census worker refused, the other man tried to grab the papers and the two men began to struggle, tearing up the papers, Bauman said.

The census worker claimed that the man he was visiting pushed him down, while Bauman said the other man claimed the census worker hit him.

In the end, neither wanted to press charges against the other, which Bauman said ended in no arrests.

According to federal law, anyone failing to respond to the census either by mail or the followup visits can face a $100 fine.

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