It happened again. Another person killed in a taser-related interaction with police. An unidentified sheriff's deputy used a taser gun to subdue 44-year old James Healy Jr. on Wednesday, March 10, 2010 ... he died a short time later. Cause-and-effect!
Police responded to a domestic dispute and possible drug overdose in Rhinebeck, 50 miles south of Albany. Authorities say they found James Healy Jr. behaving irrationally inside his girlfriend's house. Police say Healy became combative and resisted being removed from the home.
A sheriff's deputy used a stun gun on Healy during the struggle. Police say he continued to struggle before officers were able to subdue him. State police troopers say Healy then had trouble breathing and was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The cause of death was pending an autopsy.
A domestic dispute between a boyfriend and girlfriend should not warrant the death penalty. Yet, that is what happened in this case. James Healy Jr. is dead as a result of pre-judicial electrocution.
