On Feb. 17, Steven Dillingham, director of the U.S. Census Bureau, sent a letter to all local law enforcement agencies, asking them for help in “aiding in the detection, reporting and prosecution of violent crimes against Census Bureau workers.”
During the 2010 Census, Dillingham and the Inspector General at the Department of Commerce wrote the law enforcement agencies, Census employees visited 47 million homes and were the victims of more than 700 reported acts of violence across the country. Census workers have been robbed, carjacked, and kidnapped while going door-to-door. “While some of these crimes were ultimately investigated and successfully prosecuted, others were not,” Dillingham wrote. “Additionally, it is likely that other criminal acts against Census employees may not have been reported.”
Just six weeks ago, an 82-year-old woman in Orangeburg County, in South Carolina, was arrested after she pointed a gun at a Census workers and fired two shots over the employee’s vehicle. The worker was backing out of the driveway when she did so.
Assaulting a Census employee is a federal crime. But it is generally prosecuted locally, as Michael William Cooper may soon find out.
Cooper is a 32-year-old resident of 4758 Clove Avenue in Daytona North, the west Bunnell area known as the Mondex. Monday evening, he was booked at the Flagler County jail on a felony charge of aggravated assault for allegedly responding to a Census worker’s inquiry by pointing an assault-style rifle at him as he screamed and forced him off his property.
The incident took place in early evening when Johnny Swinney, the 46-year-old federal employee–Census workers like him are called enumerators or field representatives–pulled up to Cooper’s property, parked (off the property line) and walked up to the dwelling, a mobile home Cooper has owned for just over a year.
According to Cooper’s arrest report, Cooper was sitting on his porch. Swinney identified himself as a federal Census worker. There was a sign to that effect on the front of his vehicle and a prominent sign on his lanyard, which Census workers are required to show individuals before they start interviewing them.
According to Swinney, a resident of Putnam County, Cooper “immediately became irate and began to scream at [Swinney] to get off of his property.” Swinney said he attempted to explain to Cooper why he was there and that he was not trying to cause a disturbance. Cooper walked into his residence and came back out “with what appeared to be a black in color assault style rifle and chambered a round.”
Swinney turned around and began to leave. As soon as he got into his vehicle, he heard a shot fired. . He called law enforcement as he drove away. His wife was in the passenger seat. She corroborated the account, describing Cooper as yelling at Swinney before coming back out with the rifle and walking behind Swinney until he was off the property. She wasn’t sure if her husband was aware that Cooper was pointing the gun at him, and “frantically” honked the horn to catch his attention, according to the arrest report.
Cooper spoke to deputies. He told them that he did immediately yell at Swinney to get off his property, because he considered him to be trespassing, but the Census worker kept walking toward him. Cooper claimed Swinney was not wearing a badge nor had identified himself, and that he then went into his residence, armed himself with an assault rifle, and locked the door before walking back out, “carrying it at the low and ready,” he told deputies, and chambering a round in front of Swinney.
“When asked about the round being fired,” his arrest report states, “he stated that he shot it into the ground after Johnny left because he already chambered a round and did not want to leave a round in the chamber.” Neighbors told a different story. They told deputies that they saw Cooper immediately start screaming loud enough that he could be heard over the noise of a lawnmower neighbors were using–and that even from their distance across the street, they could see the Census worker’s identifying badge.
Cooper, the investigating deputy concluded, “had no legitimate reason to fear for his life or brandish a deadly firearm towards [Swinney]. [Cooper] admitted to entering the residence and locking the door behind him, and then returning back outside to confront Johnny with a rifle instead of call Law Enforcement if he believed his life was being threatened.”
Cooper faces a third-degree felony charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. He was booked on $7,500 bond, which he posted on Tuesday. His attorney, Michael Lambert of Daytona Beach, has already filed a motion to dismiss.
The following is from the Department of Commerce, which administers the 2020 Census:
How to Identify a Census Employee?
If you are visited by someone from the Census Bureau, they may be working on the 2020 Census or one of our other surveys. The Census Bureau conducts over 100 surveys throughout the country in addition to the decennial census. Here are some ways you can verify an individual is a Census Bureau employee. The census taker or field representative will present an ID badge that includes:
their name,
their photograph,
a Department of Commerce watermark, and
an expiration date.
They will have an official bag and Census Bureau-issued electronic device, such as a laptop or smartphone, bearing the Census Bureau logo. Census takers and field representatives will conduct their work between the hours of 9am and 9pm, local time. Census representatives will be at local organizations and community events with computer tablets to help individuals respond online to the 2020 Census.
The best way to avoid being visited at home by a census taker, or enumerator, is to complete the 2020 Census online, by phone, or by mail. Census takers for the 2020 Census report to their local Regional Census Centers. Please contact your local Regional Census Center if you have questions about the 2020 Census or local census takers.
For Census Bureau surveys other than the 2020 Census, Census Bureau field representatives report to one of six Regional Offices across the country. If you wish to independently confirm that the person at your door is a Census Bureau field representatives conducting a household survey other than the 2020 Census you can enter their name in the Census Bureau’s staff search website, or contact the Regional Office for your state. For Florida, the Regional Office is as follows:
George Grandy Jr., Regional Director
Atlanta Regional Office
101 Marietta Street, NW, Suite 3200
Atlanta, GA 30303-2700
(404) 730-3832 or 1-800-424-6974
FAX: (404) 730-3835
TDD: (404) 730-3963
E-mail: [email protected]
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Wow says
Good thing he had an assault rifle! I sure feel safer.
Revolted says
This incident is just one of the reasons why I did not work in this Census. I worked the last one and the people in Mondex were, for the most part, hostile and believed there was some sinister plot involved in the Census. In addition to the vicious dogs lunging and attacking at 90% of the houses, the threats were enough to dissuade me from doing it again. The low pay, ridiculous requirements and over zealous monitoring from the people in charge were the other reasons. This time around is much worse, with the lunatic fringe spreading rumors and outright lies about nearly everything.
ASF says
Gee, I wonder how he came up with the money for the bond so quickly. Not.
Jacob says
He owns an hvac business
Jimbo99 says
Rather disturbing event, I tend to limit any interactions with the Bunnell-man species of human being as much as possible for this exact reason.
Greg says
Federal worker or not, when told to get off the property, he should had turned around and left, not try to explain why he is there. People like the gun owner is a prime example of a person who should never own a gun. Good gun owners despise a person who uses a gun like this. Lock his butt up.
Trailer Bob says
I hear that bro. My guns are for two purposes…target practice and home security. Home security isn’t going after a census taker…We are not all that stupid out here though. My wife and I live here by choice, and can’t see another house anywhere from our property, bought the lots around us AND on a dead end road with only three other houses. So there are different perspectives geographically out here as well.
Common Census says
Sure Cooper could have handled it better, but why didn’t the census worker leave IMMEDIATELY after being told. A Census worker has no more rights than any other person and he was told to leave. The census worker used extremely poor judgement. Why was Cooper arrested? Is it against the law to brandish a firearm when a trespasser disregards orders to leave? Is it against the law to discharge a fire arm in Daytona North? While I think Flagler’s LEOs are generally pretty good, this deputy appears to have overstepped their authority.
carol says
Lock up that scumbag!!
And really? $7500 bail?? What a joke!!
White Bronco says
Bear in mind a very important fact….
This man votes too.
James M. Mejuto says
re: Census worker . . . This lowlife Cooper, probably a Trump lover is an ignorant and dangerous individual.
Like Humpty-Dumpty who crawls around the White House, he has no idea he
has worked against his best interests and probably knows absolutely nothing
about why we have the Census every ten years. He’s probably a White Nationalist
who cannot abide with anyone who expresses a decent thought. I just hope they
kick his ass into jail and leave him there to decay.
Land of no turn signals says says
What would an response to a article be in Flagler Live without making it political.
Jacob says
I am black and grew up with him in upstate ny he’s not a white supremacist he’s just a nut job and I’m a trump supporter who will not stoop to your level..congratulations on your new president and have a nice day!
Mondexian Mama says
Another proud member of the Wee Weenie Brigade.
E. Hoffa says
CRAZY Times! Chill out everyone because life is too short!
Brian says
A Census worker, or anybody else for that matter, should receive hazard pay if they have to venture into the Mondex.
john says
The police point guns willy nilly, and the citizens aren’t even allowed to defend their own homes. Ask yourself this- why didn’t the census worker leave when asked? Why did he wait around until the accused was getting his gun? I know you lefty thought-police at flagler live won’t ever approve a comment with a descenting opinion so I guess I’m just talking to myself here; but this story doesn’t add up. If a property owner tells you to get off his property and you don’t then you have every reason to be considered a threat. Shooting a round into the ground on your own property isn’t illegal- there was no witnesses to say if this gun was fired in a threatening manner or at the census workers car, by the alleged victims own account he was driving away and merely heard an unidentifiable gunshot. Imagine I walk up to your house, you tell me to leave and I refuse and start talking to you anyway. Would you be afraid? Case and point- the man with a badge is always right. He can come onto your property and do whatever he wants to you and your not allowed to say no. And you wonder why people are running around shooting cops and burning cities…
Really says
Because its unreasonable with a lack of common sense or decency that some gun toter thinks its ok to brandish a gun at the drop of a hat, especially, an individual just doing his job for next to nothing. You and that chain of thought are the problem ssmmhh
Palm Coast Citizen says
Because he was wearing a Census badge and driving a marked vehicle. He was clearly not a threat.
mark101 says
Take his ability to own a firearm away, fine him and then put him in the military to learn some discipline and send him to the middle east.
Concerned Citizen says
Not defending his actions at all but I will point this out.
I did my civic duty when the Census was first released. I filled out everything and printed off confirmation. Since then I have had 5 Census takers visit my residence at various times of the day. Even after stating that I filled out the required information and had confirmation. They very rudely demand my cooperation. Two were real “Karens” and threatned to bring Federal agents and have me arrested. Explaining that it’s a Federal Offense to interfer with census gathering. On each occasion I politley informed them that they had what they needed and to not come back. I also made sure that they made notes to relay to whoever the supervisor is. The next time they come I will call the Sheriff’s Office.
I understand that the Census is important. But if you want cooperation you get a lot more of it by being nice. Don’t let that little Census badge make you think you are something you aren’t.
ASF says
Something tells me there was something on that property that the perp in question didn’t want anybody else to see. The police should be wary of this guy.