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Former MPs James Johnson and Zachary Camden have been charged with second degree manslaughter, according to a press release from the district attorney’s office. The men posted a bond, which had been set at $ 150,000 each.
“With these indictments, we have taken another critical step towards justice for the Ambler family and for our community,” said prosecutor José Garza. “While we can never take the pain away from the Ambler family, the grand jury has sent a clear message that no one is above the law.”
The indictments come just over two years after Ambler, 40, died following a vehicle chase on March 28, 2019. The Austin Police Department released camera footage bodily injury from the incident in June 2020, which showed Ambler saying, “I have congestive heart failure,” as well as “I can’t breathe,” several times before he became unresponsive.
Ambler’s cause of death was congestive heart failure and hypertensive cardiovascular disease associated with morbid obesity, “in combination with forced restraint,” according to the death in custody report from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office.
The mode of death was homicide, according to the death in custody report.
The grand jury concluded that the two men “recklessly” caused Ambler’s death by using a Taser on him, physically recycling him, blocking him and handcuffing him after repeatedly saying he couldn’t breathing and had a health problem, according to the indictment.
The same grand jury heard testimony relating to an Austin Police Department agent’s involvement in Ambler’s death and declined to press charges, the press release said.
Lawyers for Johnson and Camden said their clients did not cause Ambler’s death.
“Mr. Ambler’s physical effort to resist the three officers it took to handcuff him undoubtedly contributed to his medical emergency, but Mr. Johnson and Mr. Camden are neither morally nor legally responsible for his death, ”attorneys Ken Ervin and Doug O’Connell said in a statement.
Ambler’s family sued for wrongful death
Since the video’s release, the case has seen two other officials investigate Ambler’s death.
Chody denied the charge after his arrest in September. Nassour declined to comment at the time.
Further investigation of the incident revealed that additional video from the A&E reality show “Live PD”, which accompanied the officers in the pursuit. The district attorney announced in June 2020 that Williamson County employees had been in contact with the show, which has since been canceled.
A&E said the footage had never been shown and that the channel and its producers were never “approached for the footage or an interview by law enforcement or district attorney’s office investigators.”
Dan Abrams, who previously hosted the show, told CNN in June that there was a policy in place for the show to destroy footage after a certain amount of time. He said the video was kept for three months at the request of Williamson County while they investigated the incident. He said CNN Williamson County officials told him the investigation was over and “this was the last time anyone from ‘Live PD’ heard of the video.”
A&E was not named as a defendant in the lawsuit.
CNN’s Ashley Killough, Raja Razek, Gregory Lemos, Jason Hanna and Ed Lavandera contributed to this report.
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