POUGHKEEPSIE – Despite the fact that a Taser was used to subdue an unruly man in Rhinebeck Wednesday morning, “there is no clear indication at this time that the Taser was responsible for Mr. Healy’s death,” Dutchess County Sheriff’s Lt. John Watterson said Thursday.

James Healy, 44, refused to leave a woman’s home during a domestic dispute early Wednesday. That’s when she called police and Dutchess County Sheriff’s personnel and State Police from Rhinebeck responded.

Healy would not follow orders from the officers and after he fought violently with them, a sheriff’s deputy hit him with a Taser to subdue him. It was after that, that Healy had difficulty breathing, according to troopers, and was taken to the hospital where he died.

“At this time it appears as though the deputy who deployed the Taser did so within department guidelines and according to all applicable rules and regulations,” Lt. Watterson said Thursday. But, “there is no indication that the Taser was responsible for Mr. Healy’s death,” he said.

Watterson said the cause of death is still under investigation and there are “many possible contributing factors.”