Door-to-door salesmen who just won’t take “no” for an answer have prompted a flood of complaints to the Bainbridge Island Police Department.

The department has received multiple complaints since the start of the month from islanders who have been accosted by young men who claim to be selling magazine subscriptions or getting donations for care packages for members of the military.

Complaints started rolling in Saturday, Aug. 1 from neighborhoods near Madison Avenue and Wyatt Way about overly aggressive door-to-door solicitors hawking magazine subscriptions.

Police soon discovered many of the salesmen, many from out of state, were brought in a bunch to Bainbridge to work the area.

An officer found one of the solicitors, a 21-year-old man from Buck Lake, Ohio, on Homestead Lane just before 8:30 p.m.

The man said he was employed by Priority Choice Marketing of Lakewood, Colorado. Priority Choice Marketing is a for-profit company that sells publications as part of a Mags for Soldiers sales program.

An officer warned the salesman about Bainbridge’s solicitation laws — door-to-door solicitors must have a permit from the city.

Police found another two solicitors sitting on the sidewalk near Wyatt Way that same day after a caller complained about aggressive salespeople selling magazines.

An officer approached them, and when asked if they had been selling magazines door to door, one said, “Yeah, what’s it matter to you?”

The young man was asked if he had a permit, but he said he didn’t need one because he had no product “in hand.”

When told that didn’t matter under the city’s solicitation regulations, the man replied, “You going to arrest me like they did in Marysville?’”

Police soon found the group’s boss in a nearby vehicle that had eight or more passengers, and the woman also claimed they didn’t need a license because they did not have any products in hand when they contacted residents.

When advised of the city’s laws on solicitation, she tossed a few obscenities toward the officer and finished with “whatever.” A passenger in the front seat also chimed in with vulgarities of his own that were directed at police.

Police later learned the group had been involved in another incident in Kitsap County on July 13 where police were called about aggressive solicitors, and found the young salesman from Ohio was named a suspect in a case of malicious mischief.

The following day, on Sunday, Aug. 2, police were called to Capstan Drive NE.

A resident called police after a man came to the door asking for donations for care packages for military members but the resident was worried the solicitor was really “casing” the property for a burglary. He was seen walking around the house before coming to the door, and had looked into two of the security cameras and waved.

When the resident answered the door, the man started asking strange questions such as, “Do you travel often?” and “Are you gone a lot?”

He then picked up some of the woman’s yard art next to the door.

The resident became very uncomfortable and said she would not give him any money and asked him to leave.

The solicitor then became very upset and started making aggressive comments and began yelling.

Police later found the man, a 22-year-old from Clear Lake, Iowa.

When told he was violating city regulations, he said, “Do what you have to do, and write me the ticket.”

When asked why he had walked around the home, the man denied doing it.

The man offered the officer a piece of paper about his employer, a corporation called Care Package Campaign, and said it was a legitimate business, then opened a web page on his phone to show the officer the company.

When asked if he had a permit or license for solicitation, the man said he didn’t.

He also didn’t know if his employer was a nonprofit charity.

Police checked, and found it wasn’t. They also discovered complaints about the company and a news article online about several arrests of the company’s door-to-door solicitors in another state.

He also told the officer that the company had a driver that had dropped off himself and several other solicitors in the area. Police told him to tell his driver to call in all of their people on Bainbridge.

The man, who said he would only be in Washington for a short time, was given a citation and a court date.