Javier Ambler death trial: 'Live PD' crew member takes the stand
WILLIAMSON COUNTY, Texas - Javier Ambler’s death in 2019 was filmed by ‘Live PD’, a police reality television show. On day three of the trial for the two former Williamson County deputies charged with Ambler's death, a Live PD crew member took the witness stand.
Former WilCo deputies James Johnson and Zachary Camden are charged with manslaughter for the 2019 in-custody death of Javier Ambler.
The day Ambler died and the moments leading up to it, cameras were rolling on the police struggle, including cameras from ‘Live PD’.
Ruby Garson, a former Producer with ‘Live PD’, was the first ‘Live PD’ witness to take the stand in this manslaughter trial. She told the jury she was riding with Camden the night of the incident along with a cameraman.
She says Camden followed Johnson on a high pursuit chase with Ambler. When they finally stopped, she watched the encounter from inside the patrol car and told the jury she could hear Ambler telling police he had a heart condition multiple times.
The lead Austin police detective on this case, Erin Truho, says three law enforcement officials restrained Ambler in 2019. Those officials were the defendants and APD Officer Michael Nissen.
She told the jury Officer Nissen did not deploy his taser with Ambler, but Camden and Johnson did.
The state then had Detective Truho watch an enhanced version of Johnson’s dash cam to describe what she was seeing based on her investigation. During it, she said she could see Camden deploying a taser and Johnson pushing Ambler to the ground.
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The defense cross-examined Detective Truho and asked if she had experienced a situation where a person she was arresting faked a health condition to avoid being arrested. She said she has and that she would still put that person in handcuffs on that person before addressing their medical issues for her safety.
The defense also brought up to the judge that the state failed to extract data from Ambler’s cell phone and FitBit. The defense claims the data could have been a key piece of evidence and possibly shown whether Ambler was in medical distress before he encountered use of force.
The trial picks up again on Thursday morning.