Two Men Arrested In Florida After Getting Into A Fight Over Chickens
One might assume that residents in Fort Myers Beach, Florida, have better things to do with their time than fight over chickens. That's certainly the case for the majority of people who call the town home, but not all of them.
A confrontation between neighbors on Miramar Street over six chickens that have been roaming the neighborhood for weeks was caught on camera. The footage shows a heated exchange between two men quickly turn physical.
Mug shots of Dashiell Gonzalez (L) and Robert Bourassa (Image Credit: Lee County Sheriff's Office)
Video from one of the men involved is cut short after his phone is slapped out of his hand. Fortunately, there was a surveillance camera nearby to capture the rest of the action from the wild scene.
Officers from the Lee County Sheriff's Office responded to the fight to restore peace to the neighborhood. Police confirmed that a fight between 65-year-old Robert Bourassa and 43-year-old Dashiell Gonzalez started over the roaming chickens.
Both men were arrested. The video shows Bourassa, wearing a light blue shirt, confronting Gonzalez, who is recording the interaction. The clip ends when Bourassa slaps the phone out of Gonzalez's hand.
When the surveillance camera picks up the action it shows Gonzalez on top of another person on the ground, while Bourassa stands close by and watches. Before police arrive on the scene there are a couple of people making an attempt to break the fight up.
In addition to the two men being arrested, three of the chickens were placed in the back of a domestic animal services van.
Now This Is A Chicken Fight
The Town of Fort Myers Beach was well aware of the controversy involving chickens prior to the fight. They admitted they hadn't yet come up with a solution to the problem.
The town said, "The Town has been aware of them since they first appeared, and the beach and street enforcement team has been working to find solutions."
I'm going to go out on a limb and say that most people don't want chickens roaming around their neighborhood. You can put me in that category, but I do love wild things.
So if a few chickens have to roam around in the streets in order for a couple of crazy people to cause a scene in public, sign me up.