Two former Williamson County sheriff's deputies, Zach Camden, and J.J. Johnson, were acquitted of all charges on Thursday in connection with the death of Javier Ambler in 2019, Deliberations took about four hours before the not-guilty verdicts were announced, indicating the jury did not find sufficient evidence to convict according to CBS Austin.
Ambler died following a high-speed chase that began when he failed to dim his headlights. The pursuit ended disastrously with a series of minor crashes and culminated in Camden and Johnson deploying their tasers three times on Ambler, who vociferously stated his medical condition to the officers that he had a heart condition and could not breathe. The incident was recorded for the now-canceled TV show 'Live PD,' but the footage was destroyed and hence not available for the trial, as per Talk Radio 1370 AM.
Defense attorney Ken Ervin maintained, “This case in particular was always going to end with a not guilty verdict," during an interview obtained by CBS Austin. Ervin argued that key evidence, such as Ambler's Fitbit data and the 'Live PD' footage, was not properly secured by prosecutors—a misstep he believes could have exonerated Camden and Johnson before charges were ever brought against them. The Travis County District Attorney's Office, spearheaded by DA Jose Garza, expressed their hopes for justice and closure for Ambler's family in the aftermath of the trial.
Camden and Johnson were also found not guilty of criminally negligent homicide and assault during the trial's ninth day. Despite the verdict, the circumstances surrounding Ambler's death have left a cloud over the Williamson County Sheriff's Office, especially since the former sheriff, Robert Chody, and his general counsel, Jason Nassour, are facing felony evidence tampering charges in the same case, Talk1370.com reports. It's noteworthy that this case marks the second time DA Garza's office has prosecuted a law enforcement officer for an in-custody death since Garza's election in 2020.
