Former sheriff's deputies found not guilty of all charges in death of Javier Ambler
After two former Williamson County sheriff's deputies were acquitted in the death of Javier Ambler II, the father of the deceased did something that a defense attorney later called "rare": Javier Ambler, who shared a name with his late son, embraced both defendants and told one of them, "No hard feelings."
In the manslaughter trial against Zach Camden and J.J. Johnson, a Travis County jury heard eight days of testimony and deliberated for about four hours before delivering the verdict Thursday. In addition to manslaughter, jurors were told they could consider charges of criminally negligent homicide and assault.
Ambler II, a 40-year-old father of two, died March 28, 2019. That night, he led deputies on a 20-minute, high-speed car chase after failing to dim his headlights to oncoming traffic. After crashing his white Honda Pilot, Ambler came to a stop. Johnson and Camden used their Tasers on Ambler multiple times, while they and Austin police officer Michael Nissen attempted to restrain him. On body-worn camera footage, Ambler can be heard shouting that he had a heart condition and could not breathe. He died moments later.
The encounter was captured by crews from the A&E reality show "Live PD," who were in both Camden's and Johnson's patrol vehicles. The case brought a national spotlight on the Williamson County sheriff’s office, led Texas to ban partnerships between law enforcement and TV reality shows and torpedoed the political career of a popular sheriff.
During the trial, prosecutors argued that Ambler was attempting to comply with officers' orders when he exited his car. Their case centered on convincing jurors that Camden and Johnson behaved recklessly during their confrontation with Ambler, risking his life.
Defense attorneys Doug O'Connell and Ken Ervin insisted that Camden and Johnson were acting reasonably and following police protocol during the arrest.
After the verdict was read, defense attorneys spoke to reporters outside of the courtroom. O'Connell called the case "another political prosecution" by Travis County District Attorney José Garza. He also discussed the moment when the elder Ambler showed forgiveness to his clients.
"In a case like this, there are no winners," O'Connell said. "The Ambler family is going to continue to grieve. We're thankful that our clients, Zach and J.J., can move on with their lives."
"Our hearts continue to break for the family of Javier Ambler," Garza said in an emailed statement Thursday night. "We hoped that the outcome of this trial would bring justice and closure to the family. We are grateful to our community members who served on the jury for this case, respect their decision, and thank them for their service."
The elder Ambler was a constant presence in the courtroom throughout the trial. During a pretrial hearing, he told the American-Statesman that he wanted justice for his son.
"That was my best friend," he said.
The case was the second time during his four-year term that Garza has tried a law enforcement officer for an in-custody death. Last year, a jury deadlocked in the murder trial of Austin police officer Christopher Taylor for the shooting of Michael Ramos.
A recent Statesman analysis found that, in the past five years, officers tried for in-custody deaths were rarely convicted. Prosecuting police officers poses unique challenges, law professors told the Statesman. Police officers are often called as witnesses in such cases and might be reluctant to give detrimental testimony about their colleagues, some professors said.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Javier Ambler trial: Zach Camden, J.J. Johnson found not guilty
