It’s not uncommon to be visited by a door-to-door rep attempting to sell service for an electric or gas company, but it’s not every day that one of those sales calls ends in an off-duty police officer being punched in the face.

According to the Chicago Tribune, a young man was making the rounds on the city’s Southwest Side last week, pitching the virtues of switching to Direct Energy.

At the police officer’s house, the 59-year-old off-duty cop declined the offer and says he asked the sales rep to shut the gate on his way out. The rep allegedly slammed the gate, leading to some verbal fireworks between the two.

Witnesses told the police that the sales rep then punched the cop in the face, breaking his glasses.

So he was arrested and charged with aggravated battery to a police officer and criminal damage to property.

A spokesperson for Direct Energy tells the Tribune that the company “takes it very seriously,” but would not yet say if the arrested man was employed by Direct Energy or a subcontractor.

The Tribune reports that this is the man’s fourth arrest on battery charges, so whichever company hired him should probably have done a more thorough background check before sending him out on a job that requires him to annoy people by showing up at their door uninvited.

Police: Man seeking business punched off-duty police officer at home [Chicago Tribune]

Want more consumer news? Visit our parent organization, Consumer Reports, for the latest on scams, recalls, and other consumer issues.