Two former Texas sheriff’s deputies were found not guilty in the 2019 death of a Black man who was repeatedly tasered following a high-speed chase that was filmed as part of the defunct reality TV series “Live PD.”
James “JJ” Johnson and Zachary Camden, who both resigned from the Williamson County Sheriff’s Office following the March 2019 death of 40-year-old Javier Ambler, were acquitted on March 7 on charges of assault, manslaughter, and criminal negligent homicide.
A Travis County jury delivered the verdicts at the Blackwell-Thurman Criminal Justice Center in Austin following a nine-day trial, which ended three weeks before the fifth anniversary of Ambler’s death.
In a dramatic moment after the verdicts, Ambler’s father, Javier Ambler Sr., approached the defense table and embraced Johnson and Camden, telling the former deputies, “No hard feelings,” before walking quietly out of the courtroom, according to NBC affiliate KXAN.
The 400-pound Ambler died March 28, 2019, after he was tased four times while pleading with deputies about the condition of his heart, saying he couldn’t breathe as the officers pinned him to the ground.
“I have congestive heart failure,” Ambler could be heard pleading on police body camera footage of the struggle. “I have congestive heart failure. I am not resisting. I can’t breathe.”
Travis County District Attorney José Garza said Ambler’s family deserved “justice and closure” even though his office had failed to win convictions against the former Williamson deputies.
“Our hearts continue to break for the family of Javier Ambler,” Garza wrote in a statement. “We are grateful to our community members who served on the jury for this case, respect their decision, and thank them for their service.”
Any record of the incident involving Johnson and Camden will also be expunged, defense attorney Ken Ervin confirmed, ensuring the officers’ careers won’t be tarnished by the fatal confrontation with Ambler.
On the night of his death, Ambler allegedly led the deputies on a 22-minute chase after he failed to dim his high beams to oncoming traffic and then refused to pull over, police said.
The ensuing chase whipped through Williamson County for nearly half an hour before coming to an end in neighboring north Austin, where Ambler crashed, and officers surrounded him.
A production crew for the former A&E show “Live PD” was taping what would turn out to be one of the show’s final episodes, capturing raw footage of the chase and Ambler’s subsequent arrest.
Body camera footage later revealed Ambler struggling with several officers on the ground after he was ordered out of his SUV.
On the video, one of the officers can be heard threatening to tase Ambler again unless he quit resisting.
During the scuffle, Ambler urged the officers to ease up due to his heart condition, maintaining that he couldn’t breathe.
The deputies kept the man restrained and tased him at least three more times.
The medical examiner later declared Ambler’s death a homicide, concluding he died from a combination of factors, including congestive heart failure and hypertensive cardiovascular disease associated with obesity, as well as the forcible restraint.
In 2020, Ambler’s family filed a wrongful death lawsuit, claiming that deputies engaged in the car chase to create an engaging drama for the “Live PD” show, which was canceled by A&E the same year.
The family settled the case in 2021 for $5 million.
