AUGUSTA — An animal damage control agent whose state license was pulled earlier this month after he went shopping for a Taser can go to work again.

Richard Burton met Wednesday with officials at the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife to discuss the status of his animal damage control operator’s license that permits him to trap nuisance wildlife legally. He left the meeting anxious to get back on the job.

William Robitzek, a Lewiston attorney, said after the meeting that his client’s license had been reinstated and a letter from the state agency revoking his license a month ago had been rescinded.

“It’s something that was a mix-up and we’re glad we got it straightened out,” Robitzek said. “Taser (International Inc.) got it wrong.”

Burton had been scheduled for a Wednesday administrative hearing over the issue. Instead, when he and his attorney showed up for the hearing, they were told they would meet informally with Deputy Commissioner Andrea Erskine privately in her office. A Sun Journal reporter and photographer were not invited to attend that meeting.

Burton, who owns and operates Maine Animal Damage Control in Lewiston, had been hoping to give his side of the story, something he hadn’t been able to do since he got a letter from the department’s director of wildlife accusing him of trying to buy a law enforcement-style Taser. Burton disputes the assertion, insisting he specifically expressed interest in a so-called wildlife Taser that delivers a less potent jolt.

In fact, he wasn’t planning to use the device on the job in Maine, he said. He wanted it instead to have as backup in an effort to subdue a lost dog for a client in Connecticut whose Doberman pinscher, adopted from a rescue agency, had run off.

Erskine said after the closed-door meeting that the company that manufactures the stun gun contacted her agency with a concern that Burton had presented himself as someone acting on behalf of the warden service looking to buy wildlife control equipment.

“We took it seriously,” she said.

It turned out that the people at Taser had misunderstood Burton’s job description, Erskine said.

“It was a misunderstanding on behalf of Taser,” she said. “They didn’t know the term animal damage control from game warden and that’s where the misunderstanding took place.”

After learning that his license had been pulled, Burton tried to give his account to an officer at the department, but was rebuffed, he said.

On Wednesday, Burton, accompanied by his attorney, had a chance to tell his side of the story.

“So we did take action and we resolved it with Mr. Burton and we reinstated his authority and moved forward from there,” Erskine said.

Burton said Erskine and her officers at the meeting were very professional and cordial.

But the “misunderstanding” has been a costly one for Burton, who said he lost a month’s worth of work and incurred legal fees.

Why hadn’t Burton been offered a chance to explain his actions earlier?

Erskine said Wednesday she didn’t believe Burton had been contacted by her department before his license was revoked. Why not? That’s something Erskine said her office as well as the attorneys who represent their department plan to review.

“Right now we, along with the Attorney General’s Office, are going to be looking at our policies.” she said.

“They’re outdated. We’ve lost staff. The person who used to oversee that entire program no longer works for us. It’s been shifted around a little bit. We’re going to be looking at all of our policies and protocols, absolutely.”

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