The Eugene Police Department is facing a lawsuit after an officer punched and tased a man during an arrest last year.
Jehoshaphat Commandest, 26, is suing for no more than $1 million in damages, according to a filing in Lane County Circuit Court on July 30.
Eugene Police arrested Commandest on the afternoon of Jan. 11, 2025, for trespassing on private property on River Road.
In a legal filing, Commandest said he’d gone to his neighbor's to collect scrap materials, believing he had permission to be there, when someone called the police. He later pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor.
As a pair of officers walked the plaintiff toward a patrol car in handcuffs, the lawsuit claims officer Stephen Lahm made threatening comments, telling Commandest he would “dust your ass.”
Commandest said he tried to turn toward his family to say goodbye, worried that the police might injure or kill him.
What happened next was captured in police dashcam footage that the plaintiff’s lawyer shared with KLCC.
Warning: this video contains violence that may be upsetting to some viewers.
In the video, Commandest appeared to try to pull away from the officers. The police then pulled him back, and Lahm started punching him in the face repeatedly.
Lahm then grabbed his neck, took out a stun gun and deployed it for several seconds, while Commandest screamed. A few seconds later, the officer used the Taser again.
According to the lawsuit, the device was set on a “drive-stun” setting, which doesn’t send out projectiles. According to Axon, which manufactures Taser, the setting is meant to cause pain in order to make someone comply, rather than fully incapacitate them.
Meanwhile, the video shows the other EPD officer, Lindsey Collier, holding Commandest’s arm and telling a bystander to stay back.
The plaintiff is now accusing the officers of battery, negligence and excessive force. He claims he suffered bruising, electrical burns and a traumatic brain injury from the incident.
“Mr. Commandest, who was arrested only for suspicion of trespassing, was handcuffed and restrained,” Derek Lawrick, Commandest’s lawyer, wrote in a statement Monday.
“When Officer Lahm punched Mr. Commandest in the face, attempted to choke him, and used the Taser multiple times, all while Mr. Commandest was handcuffed,” he wrote, “that was an abuse of power.”
Commandest was later charged with resisting arrest, but that case was dismissed. Eugene’s Independent Police Auditor also found that Lahm had used more force than necessary, according to a letter the plaintiffs shared with KLCC.
Lahm went on leave shortly after the incident, and he resigned in late 2025, according to state records.
He now works as an insurance advisor in Eugene, according to his LinkedIn, and didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Collier is still with EPD. The department’s spokesperson said the agency couldn't comment on pending litigation.
Commandest is suing the individual officers as well as the Eugene Police Department and the City. He’s now requesting a jury trial.
“Although the City of Eugene Auditor found Officer Lahm’s conduct to be a violation of its own policies, the City has refused to do anything to make things right with Mr. Commandest, forcing us to file this lawsuit to obtain justice,” said Lawrick.
