County of Texas Announces Settlement in Unfair Claims Over Death of Javier Ambler, a Black man who died in custody

The county will pay about $1.6 million while the rest will come from county insurance, the tweet said.

Ambler died after a car chase that began in Williamson County and ended in nearby Austin. During his arrest, Ambler could hear body camera footage telling the sheriff’s deputies several times that he couldn’t breathe.

There is also additional video from the A&E reality show “Live PD”, along with the officers in the chase. A&E said the footage was never aired and that the network and its producers were never “requested to be interviewed by investigators from law enforcement or the attorney’s office.”

Attorneys for the Ambler family, including Ben Crump, Antonio Romanucci, Jeff Edwards and Bhavani Raveendran, said in a statement, “While the Ambler family remains devastated by the loss of their son and beloved father, the Ambler family remains devastated. their love, they are proud that they fought for him and hope that this settlement and the changes that have occurred in Williamson County, Texas as a result of it will send a strong message to the agency. law enforcement that ignoring the pleas of someone they can’t breathe will no longer be tolerated.”

Ambler’s family filed a false claim against Williamson County in October 2020, alleging then-Sheriff Robert Chody allowed the A&E program to film its officers at work because he “believed it” that Live PD helps its department recruit officers and has made it an essential component of the Williamson County Sheriff’s Department.” A&E was not named as a defendant in the lawsuit.

The complaint cites numerous examples of alleged excessive violence by both the then police chief and his officers, and adds the chief “encourages his officers to engage into dangerous, high-risk police tactics because that creates more entertainment for the Live PD.”

ONE The grand jury indicted Chody and Jason Nassour, former Williamson County general counsel, in September 2020 for tampering with physical evidence during the investigation into Ambler’s death. Chody denied the allegation, and Nassour told CNN he could not comment at the time.

This early year, a grand jury also indicted former Williamson County Representative James Johnson and Zachary Camden on second-degree manslaughter in connection with Ambler’s death. Lawyers for Johnson and Camden said their client did not cause Ambler’s death.