A black man being arrested by Williamson County Sheriff’s deputies died last March after being tased repeatedly, an investigation by the Statesman and KVUE has revealed.
Deputies began pursuing Javier Ambler in Round Rock for a minor traffic infraction — failure to dim headlights to oncoming traffic. Ambler, who was leaving a poker game, ignored emergency lights and sirens and led the deputies on a 22-minute chase, during which he crashed several times, before disabling his vehicle in the St. Johns neighborhood of Austin.
Within an hour, the 40-year-old father of two would be pronounced dead at Dell Seton Medical Center. His death raises questions at a time when Black Lives Matter protests have erupted across the nation. How did this happen? Why is this only coming to light now, over a year later? Was Ambler resisting arrest when he was tased? Did the officers act appropriately or not?
Ambler suffered from congestive heart failure, and medical examiners concluded that he died of heart failure and hypertensive cardiovascular disease “in combination with forcible restraint.”
Body camera video of the arrest published by KVUE shows deputies telling Ambler repeatedly, “stop resisting” as he lies face down and they struggle to cuff him. He says, “I’m not resisting” and also tells them “I have congestive heart failure” and “I can’t breathe.” Despite that, the deputies command him to remain “flat on your stomach” as they struggle to cuff him.
From the video it’s not entirely clear whether Ambler was actively trying to prevent officers from cuffing him or merely trying to use his hands to lift himself off the ground as he struggled for air. Ambler was a heavy man, and lying face down may have made it difficult for him to breathe.
It’s worth asking why officers tried forcibly to detain Ambler rather than trying to deescalate the situation, even though the 400-pound-man had disabled his vehicle and would not have been able to outrun officers.
Deputies tased Ambler at least three times, according to internal investigations. After he went limp and lost consciousness, deputies attempted CPR until Austin medics took over and took him to the hospital.
David Lowthrop, a sergeant in the Williamson County Sheriff’s Office of Professional Standards, wrote in an internal case report that Ambler, after crashing his vehicle, got out of his vehicle and raised his hands but did not comply with verbal commands to “get to the ground,” instead turning toward the open driver door, at which point an officer tased him.
This brought Ambler to one knee, after which he rolled onto his back. As he struggled to stand back up, the arresting officer said, “roll over, you’ll get it again, get on the ground, all the way, lay on your stomach.” Lowthrop wrote that another deputy then arrived on scene and pushed Ambler’s upper torso to the ground, while tasing him “in a drive stun motion.” This officer also used a “moderate knee strike to the suspect’s upper shoulder.”
Deputies tased him after that at least one more time, after which he went limp. Lowthrop wrote that deputies used a reasonable amount of force; his account, however, does not include Ambler’s statements about being unable to breathe and having a heart condition.
It’s also not clear that an ordinary pair of handcuffs would have been large enough for Ambler, and that he was able to position his arms in such a way to fit the cuffs, which calls into question the officers’ conclusion that he was resisting arrest and not complying with commands.
Ambler’s mother, Maritza, told KVUE in an interview, “What happened to my son? He’s dead. How? I can’t have any closure because I need to know.” His father, also called Javier, said, “Dads should not have to bury their sons.”
Political Fallout
Information about Ambler’s death came to light in part because it took place in Travis County, where Austin Police and the District Attorney pursued their own investigation independent of the Williamson County investigation.
Margaret Moore, the District Attorney, said Tuesday that Williamson County Sheriff Robert Chody’s office did not fully cooperate with investigators from Austin Police. “For the last year, Wilco has stonewalled our investigation,” she said.
Travis County prosecutors also fought with the Williamson County sheriff over the release of video filmed by Live PD, a television show, which had a crew in one of the pursuit vehicles and on-scene at the arrest. A&E, the producer of that show, says it “no longer retained” the footage after learning that Williamson County completed its internal investigation. It didn’t say that it had deleted the footage, however, or whether someone might still have a copy of it somewhere.
Body camera footage published by KVUE shows a man with a camera, presumably a Live PD cameraman, standing feet away from officers as they try to handcuff Ambler. That footage could provide a clearer picture of what happened during the attempted arrest.
“Over the last year, the District Attorney’s Office has been fighting with Williamson County Sheriff’s Office to have Live PD video footage related to Javier Ambler’s death released. What should have been a routine traffic stop, ended with Javier’s death,” Moore said.
Sheriff Robert Chody declined to comment on Moore’s statement but said his office said in a written statement, “In terms of any LIVE PD footage, as a department, we do not control that footage. However, I join the Travis County DA in requesting that LIVE PD make any existing footage available for review by Travis County prosecutors.”
KVUE and the Statesman also accused the Williamson County Sheriff of being uncooperative with information requests. Ultimately, the Texas Attorney General’s Office ruled that the sheriff had to release information under the Texas Public Information Act.
Two county commissioners yesterday called on Sheriff Robert Chody to resign. He replied to these calls on Twitter, saying he plans to continue in office and saying he wasn’t surprised that a “left-leaning member of the court” call for his resignation.
Documents obtained by KVUE/Statesman:
