Texas police chase ended in death as 'Live PD' cameras rolled in 2019. 'I can't breathe,' the man cries.
Javier Ambler was driving home from a friendly poker game in the early hours of March 28, 2019, when a Williamson County sheriff’s deputy noticed that he failed to dim the headlights of his SUV to oncoming traffic.
Critics of Williamson County Sheriff Robert Chody, a lottery-made millionaire, say he has chosen cable show stardom over public safety. They also worry that the presence of TV cameras leads deputies to forsake prudent policing for dramatic television. Investigators say Chody and “Live PD” producers have repeatedly stonewalled their efforts to obtain evidence or interviews with the officers involved.
When Ambler passed with his brights on at 1:23 a.m., the deputy turned his car around and flipped on the flashing lights.For the next 22 minutes, the two vehicles sped across highways and onto neighborhood streets. As he drove, Johnson narrated for the TV crew, telling them what he thought was going on in Ambler’s mind.
As the struggle continued, officers used a Taser on Ambler a third time, though the report said it was unclear which officer deployed his weapon. A death-in-custody report filed with the Texas attorney general’s office — a procedure required anytime a person dies in police custody — said Ambler did not attempt to, nor did he assault deputies; he did not verbally threaten others nor attempt to get control of any officers’ weapons.
There is no indication in the report that the deputies faced any action against them or were forced to take time off because of the incident. Ambler was a defensive end at Ellison High School in Killeen and got a football scholarship to Blinn College before enrolling at Prairie View A&M University. He spent as much time as he could with his sons, a 15-year-old who now lives in Killeen with Ambler’s parents and a 4-year-old living with his mother in the Austin area. The Amblers said their son coached his older son's community football league and took his sons to University of Texas football games.
Police cars were parked outside when she arrived, and a couple of officers rushed her inside as neighbors watched from their front porches.“Dads should not have to bury their sons,” Javier Ambler said.Because the chase ended in Austin, the Austin Police Department Special Investigations Unit is investigating with Moore’s Civil Rights Unit.
On May 18, the Texas attorney general’s office ordered Chody’s office to release some documents, and the department made public a three-page internal investigative report and the statement of a deputy who arrived at the scene at the conclusion of the chase. Moore said that because of the coronavirus pandemic, grand juries have been unable to meet for months and that state court administrators have said they may not do so again until August. Moore said she will seek permission this week to convene the grand jury before August.Investigators say they are disturbed about what happened to Ambler and how the Williamson sheriff’s officials have responded to his death.
Law enforcement agencies nationally have scaled back on high-speed pursuits. The International Association of Chiefs of Police recommends chases only when “the suspect, if allowed to flee, would present a danger to human life or cause serious injury.” “Blacks tend to see police as occupiers, as oppressors, as people who have mistreated them in the past,” Dovidio said. “This is not just being paranoid; there’s enough historical evidence to make that credible.”
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