Senator Royce West Calls on Williamson County Sheriff to Resign for In-Custody Death of Javier Ambler

Press Release

State Senator Royce West (D-Dallas) called for the immediate resignation of Williamson County Sheriff Robert Chody, in the wake of new revelations about the death of another unarmed black man while in the custody of Chody's department.

"Following a 22-minute police chase, simply because he didn't dim his headlights, Javier Ambler died, in the custody of police. It is unacceptable," West said. "Like George Floyd, Ambler complained he could not breathe before he died, according to body camera video aired by Austin TV station KVUE this week," West continued.

"The medical examiner ruled his death a homicide after he was tased at least three times by Williamson County Sheriff's Deputies--after he told them he had a heart condition," West said. "This is another example of the need for police reform in this state and in this country. We have a new story weekly it seems."

West's call for Chody to resign comes a few days after State Representative James Talarico (D-Round Rock) and multiple Williamson County Commissioners called on Chody to step down.

"I am calling on Sheriff Chody to resign for two reasons. Number one, the fact that key evidence--footage from the reality television show that was filming this incident--was lost, shows a serious failure on the part of his department to have secured that evidence when the department had the opportunity," West said.

"The fact that the Travis County District Attorney had publicly said Sheriff Chody's office is not cooperating in the investigation is another reason, in my opinion, for him to step down. Like all elected officials, he took an oath to uphold the state constitution and the laws of this state; thus, failure to cooperate in this investigation is reason for him to resign," West said.

West also noted the in-custody death itself was very disturbing, and he questioned why, under Chody's leadership, officers were engaging in 22-minute police chases while under the lights and cameras of a reality television show.

"We must examine, from the state level, regulations that can be enacted concerning vehicle chases, and when they are reasonable and when they are not," West said.

"Is it reasonable to engage in a high speed chase while filming a reality television show, "Live PD,' because a person did not dim their lights--a minor infraction," West asked.

"Should law enforcement really be escalating like this--to the point that it leads to the death of the suspect--in appearance for a TV show? The TV producers' deleted footage that could have been critical evidence surrounding the death of Javier Ambler," West noted. "The loss of this footage merits additional investigation."

West also said that the extreme use of tasers by law enforcement needs careful examination.

"We also need to take a long, hard look at tasers," West said. "For one thing, tasers are not non-lethal forces, they are less-lethal forces, and Javier Ambler is a prime example of why you cannot consider a taser non-lethal," West said. "We need to reevaluate our use of tasers because they interfere with the operation of the body's most central muscle--the heart," he continued.

West noted that the body camera footage, captured as a result of legislation he authored, has brought to light new revelations about the case.

Senate Bill 158, authored and passed by West in 2015, created Texas' comprehensive police officer body camera law. In many instances, footage from these cameras has disproved original police narratives.

"Were it not for the legislation I wrote and passed in 2015 concerning body cameras, we would not have the information we have today about the death of Javier Ambler and many others," West said. "Police body cameras have been a tremendous asset in the fight for racial justice and in the fight for honest policing. We are now seeing the evidence. Now we need to act on it to make the system better."

Background on Ambler case:

Javier Ambler, of Pflugerville, was driving in Williamson County on March 29 of last year when he allegedly failed to dim his vehicle headlights, according to published reports of the incident. Williamson County Sheriff's Deputies, while filming a reality TV show, chased him for 22 minutes before the chase ended with Ambler's vehicle crashing. Deputies then tased Ambler three times after he told them he had a heart condition.

The death of Ambler, age 40, was ruled a homicide by the local medical examiner.

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