A confrontation led to a compromise Tuesday over attempts to trap raccoons at a beachfront park in Brevard County.
- Trapper has been trying to remove raccoons from Lori Wilson Park
- Some have been tampering with the traps, fearing the trapper will kill the animals
- Trapper insists he doesn't kill the healthy raccoons
- RELATED: Mangy raccoons overrunning Brevard beachfront park
"This is totally getting out of hand," wildlife trapper James Dean said.
Dean is tasked to catch a slew of raccoons overrunning county-owned Lori Wilson Park in Cocoa Beach. On Tuesday, he found nine of his traps turned over or thrown over the boardwalk inside the Hammock Nature Trail.
The county says several people have been illegally feeding the raccoons, so they hired the trapper to remove them.
"These raccoons are going to be relocated if they are healthy, they are not going to be destroyed," insisted Dean.
On Tuesday, Dean was told a county employee encountered a man in the area that's currently closed off to the public. He says the man was argumentative during the confrontation.
That same man showed up moments after we spoke to Dean and expressed his concerns.
"These raccoons have been in here for years," the man, who wouldn't give his name, said.
"Now people are trying to trap them and kill them. And this one right here is the one that kills them," he added, talking about Dean.
But Dean wanted to clear the air -- and he offered the man a proposal.
"You can work with me. I'm tired of having to come and fix my traps," Dean told the man.
So they had a talk and came to an agreement. The man and others wouldn't tamper with the traps anymore, and he would tag along with the trapper on a raccoon release.
The man was given a written trespass warning by Cocoa Beach Police. He's not allowed in the park for the next two years.
Feeding of wildlife is a second degree misdemeanor, punishment is 60 days in jail and up to $500 fine.