Williamson County sheriff arrested in video evidence case
AUSTIN — A Texas sheriff has been indicted on charges of destroying or concealing video in an investigation into the death in custody of a Black man, Javier Ambler, that was filmed by the police reality TV series “Live PD,” prosecutors said Monday.
Williamson County Sheriff Robert Ch ody was booked into his jail and released on $10,000 bail a short time later. The third-degree felony charge is punishable by up to 10 years in prison.
The indictment comes as prosecutors in Austin separately investigate the use of force in Ambler’s death in March 2019, when the 40year-old former postal worker was pulled over for allegedly failing to dim his headlights to oncoming traffic. The traffic stop was filmed for the real-time police show “Live PD,” which was canceled by the A&E Network in June.
“The ‘Live PD’ video would be wholly material to the investigation into use of force,” Travis County District Attorney Margaret Moore said at a news conference.
A&E has said its video never aired because of a policy against showing a death, and it didn’t keep the footage after it was informed that the initial investigation had closed.
Ambler died after Williamson County sheriff’s deputies repeatedly used stun guns on him, despite his pleas that hewas sick and couldn’t breathe.
Chody, a Republican who’s running for re-election in November, has faced calls to resign since video of the traffic stop was published by the Austin American-Statesman and KVUE-TV in June.
Court records show Chody is accused of destroying or concealing recordings “with intent to impair their ability as evidence in the investigation” into Ambler’s death. Chody said he never tampered with evidence and accused prosecutors of bringing the case to a grand jury to save their political careers and hurt his own chances of keeping his job.
Chody, who said he wouldn’t step down while under indictment, said “Live PD” never was contacted by prosecutors for footage during the initial investigation.
“Fromthe beginning, the Ambler incident has been hampered by prosecutors failing to act, and then attempting to pass off responsibility,“Chody told reporters a few hours after his release from jail.
The booking photo posted by the jail shows Chody wearing a suit and a smile, standing in front of the Williamson County Sheriff’s Office logo.
Jeff Edwards, an attorney for the Ambler family, released a statement saying the alleged destruction of evidence is behind the “slow pace of justice in this case.“
“It seems the sheriff was more interested in being part of a reality television program and providing entertaining video content than protecting the lives of Black citizens he was sworn to protect,“the statement read. “If true, such shameful behavior by a law enforcement leader is striking evidence that there needs to be a sweeping, systematic overhaul of our system of policing.“
Police body camera video of Ambler’s death shows the gasping 400pound man telling the deputies that he wants to comply with their demands but that he can’t because he has congestive heart failure.
“I amnot resisting,” Ambler cries. “Sir, I can’t breathe. … Please. … Please.”
Internal affairs investigators with the Williamson County Sheriff’s Office determined deputies didn’t violate pursuit or use-of-force policies. Their report doesn’t indicate whether the deputies were disciplined or forced to take leave.
A&E has said its video never aired because of a policy against showing a death, and it didn’t keep the footage after it was informed the initial investigation had closed.
A&E said neither the network nor the show’s producers “were asked for the footage or an interview by investigators from law enforcement or the district attorney’s office.”
Moore said a separate grand jury in Austin likely will begin hearing additional evidence in November.
Ambler’s death was ruled a homicide, according to the report made to the state attorney general’s office, which noted it could have been “justifiable.”
An autopsy revealed he died of congestive heart failure and hypertensive cardiovascular disease associated with morbid obesity “in combination with forcible restraint.”