photo credit: Izaak Schwaiger
A still image from the body camera of a responding Sebastopol Police officer shows Jeffrey
Callaghan being tased during a suspected DUI stop on July 24, 2024.

Sebastopol is settling a lawsuit with a man who was violently arrested by Sebastopol police officers after they mistook his diabetic emergency for a DUI.

In July 2024, Sebastopol police arrested former Sonoma County resident Jeffrey Callaghan after he crashed his truck on Gravenstein Highway, and was unresponsive to police orders.

The man was suffering from insulin shock at the time.

His attorney, Izaak Schwaiger, said officers believed the man to be the influence of alcohol.

"The whole thing's on video, the cop tasers a man who's got his experiencing a diabetic emergency and has his hands in the air at the time that he gets attacked," Schwaiger said. "I mean it's just it's all over the top."

The officers tased Callaghan for not following instructions, and broke his arm while placing him in handcuffs. That's all while his young daughter was in the nearby truck.

The city settled with Callaghan for $1.95 million dollars, Schwaiger says that is because of, "the officers getting together and trying to fabricate charges against Jeff to get him branded a felon and thrown in jail so he can't sue them."

Callaghan was booked into Sonoma County jail on multiple felony charges after the arrest, all of which were dropped by the county district attorney's office.

"You know he's not an anti cop guy," Schwaiger said. "He's very pro police and that's why this was really disappointing for him what happened."

Schwaiger also said the settlement, "makes it one of the larger taser settlements in California history."

As part of the 1.95 million dollar settlement, the City of Sebastopol covered $10,000, with the remaining portion paid by insurance; and the city and officers involved deny admission of liability for the incident.