From left, Zachary Camden, Javier Ambler and James Johnson.Photo: Austin, Texas Police Department/AP/Shutterstock; Facebook
His arrest occurred as cameras were rolling for the A&E network showLive PD, which was canceled weeks after thekilling of George Floydamid widespread protests over police brutality and racism.
When stopped, Ambler was tasered four times, according to body cam footage of the incident, despite telling the officers that he suffered from an underlying health condition.
“I have congestive heart failure,” Ambler, the father of two sons, can be heard saying in the footage. “I can’t breathe.”
“With these indictments, we have taken another critical step towards justice for the Ambler family and for our community,” Travis County District Attorney José Garza said in astatement. “While we can never take away the pain of the Ambler family, the grand jury has sent a clear message that no one is above the law.”
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The body cam footage came not from the Williamson County Sheriff’s deputies who arrested Ambler, but from officers with the Austin police department who later arrived on the scene, NBC Newsreported.
The former Travis County district attorney, Margaret Moore, said last summer that she had to battle the Williamson County Sheriff’s office — informally known as Wilco — for access to footage of the arrest.
“What should have been a routine traffic stop, ended with Javier’s death,” Moore said in astatementvia Twitter in June. “For the last year, Wilco has stonewalled our investigation. We planned to take this case before a grand jury in April, but bc of COVID-19 we’ll be empaneling this summer. We’re taking this case seriously & working to seek justice for Javier & his family.”
Chody added that his department does not control theLive PDfootage, which is the property of A&E.
In a statement, the network said: “The incident did not occur whileLive PDwas on the air, but rather during the show’s hiatus, when producers are regularly out in the field gathering footage. The footage never aired onLive PDper A&E’s standards and practices because it involved a fatality.”
The Travis County D.A.’s office said the grand jury also heard evidence about Austin police officer Michael Nissen’s actions at the scene of Ambler’s arrest, but found no reason to bring charges against him.
source: people.com
