ROUND ROCK, Texas - State Rep. James Talarico (D-Round Rock) has joined calls for the resignation of Williamson County Sheriff Robert Chody in light of details of the officer-in-custody death of Javier Ambler.
Talarico issued a statement Tuesday, calling on Chody to resign, but saying that "this problem does not begin or end with him."
The full statement from Talarico is as follows:
“Another unarmed black man was killed by police in America. This time it was our neighbor. This time it was followed by 15 months of secrecy. This time it was filmed by a TV crew for entertainment. His name was Javier Ambler and he deserves justice. I call on Sheriff Chody to resign, but this problem does not begin or end with him. Our system of policing is deeply broken. We must replace it with something new and something better. As they have throughout our history, the voices in the street—particularly Black voices—are calling us to live up to our highest ideals. We must listen, then we must act.”
Chody responded to Talarico's statement on Twitter.
Williamson County Commissioners Cynthia Long and Terry Cook called for Chody to resign Tuesday as well.
RELATED: Williamson County commissioners ask Sheriff Robert Chody to resign
Ambler died while being detained by Williamson County deputies in March 2019. He was chased into Austin by the deputies for allegedly not dimming his headlights.
After crashing his vehicle near the intersection of Saint John’s and Bennett, Williamson County deputies struggled to handcuff Ambler, resulting in the use of a stun gun several times.
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VIEWER WARNING: Austin Police Department video of Javier Ambler incident - 3/28/2019
This video may be disturbing to watch. Body cam video from the Austin Police Department of the incident involving Javier Ambler's death where Williamson County Sheriff deputies tased him until he died. (Video courtesy Austin Police Department)
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Investigators tell FOX 7 that the body cam video released to a local media outlet of the arrest was recorded from an Austin police officer at the scene. In the video, Ambler can be heard telling officers and deputies that he has a heart condition and that he cannot breathe.
Moore tells FOX 7 Austin that a camera crew with the show "Live PD" was on the scene at the time of Ambler's arrest. The crew was shadowing deputies as part of the show and the incident was never broadcast.
RELATED: Williamson County LivePD fight escalates with protests, new lawyers
Moore also confirmed she is having trouble getting information from the sheriff's office as well as information from the TV production company. The case is being investigated by Moore’s office because the wreck happened in Travis County.
Williamson County District Attorney Shawn Dick tells FOX 7 Austin he was not immediately informed about the incident by the sheriff's office and recently learned of the details. He went on to say that his office currently has several other unrelated excessive force investigations underway involving incidents with the Williamson County Sheriff's Office.
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