PORTLAND — Authorities shut down Federal Street outside the U.S. District Court this afternoon after a report of suspicious behavior that involved a man removing a manhole cover.

Police shut down the area at about 3:30 p.m. while investigating the report, but determined that it was a city worker who was shutting down the fountain outside the Central Fire Station for the winter.

The report initially suggested the man may have been driving a rental car, police said, but city officials said the worker was using a city maintenance vehicle but might have had to park a distance away because of limited parking right near the fountain.

Traffic was detoured around the area for at least an hour.