Former Williamson County Deputies Charged With Manslaughter

AUSTIN, TX — Two former Williamson County deputies were indicted by a Travis County Grand Jury in relation to the March 2019 in-custody death of Javier Ambler, authorities said.

Travis County District Attorney José Garza announced Tuesday that his office has indicted former Williamson County deputies Zachary Camden and James Johnson and charged the men with second-degree manslaughter.

Bail has been set at $150,000 for each man and conditions include a prohibition on employment with law enforcement agencies or security companies, the district attorney's office said.

The charges will be prosecuted by the District Attorney Office’s Civil Rights Unit and is pending in the 299th Judicial District Court.

"With these indictments, we have taken another critical step towards justice for the Ambler family and for our community," Garza said. "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."

Ambler, a Black 40-year-old postal worker and father of two, died on March 28, 2019, after being repeatedly tased by deputies after they stopped him for not dimming his lights. In police video, Ambler is heard complaining of an inability to breathe and alerting to a congestive heart failure.

The encounter was captured by a video crew from the now-canceled "Live PD" reality show in which Williamson County Sheriff Robert Chody participated along with some of his deputies.

In September, Chody was indicted by a grand jury on evidence tampering charges in connection with video of the in-custody death, according to a Patch October 2020 article.

The district attorney's office said the same grand jury heard evidence related to Austin Police Department Officer Michael Nissen’s involvement in the incident, considered all relevant charges, and returned a No Bill for the officer.

This indictment follows on earlier this month against Austin Police Department officer Christopher Taylor for first-degree murder in the death of Michael Ramos.