By Joanna Putman
Police1
AUSTIN, Texas — A jury found two former Williamson County Sheriff’s Office deputies not guilty on all charges related to the death of a man who died while they were restraining him, the Austin-American Statesman reported.
The jury hearing the case of Zach Camden and J.J. Johnson in the death of Javier Ambler II considered charges of manslaughter, criminal negligence and assault, according to the report. Ambler’s father, Javier Ambler, told Camden that there were “no hard feelings” after the not guilty verdict was read.
The initial incident, which occurred March 28, 2019, began when the deputies attempted to stop Ambler after they noticed he failed to dim his headlights to oncoming traffic, according to the report. Ambler fled the deputies, leading to a 20-minute high-speed chase.
The incident was captured on video by body-worn cameras and by “Live PD” producers, who were riding along with the deputies at the time the incident occurred. Video shows that the deputies deployed their TASERs at Ambler several times as they attempted to restrain him.
Ambler told the deputies that he had a heart condition and could not breathe, video shows. He died shortly thereafter.
Prosecutors in the case asserted that the deputies acted recklessly while Ambler attempted to follow their instructions, according to the report. Defense attorneys argued that Camden and Johnson acted reasonably in accordance with police procedure.