Former Williamson General Counsel Charged In Javier Ambler Case

Austin TX

01 April, 2021

9:39 AM

Description

AUSTIN, TX — A former general counsel for the Williamson County Attorney's Office was indicted by a Travis County Grand Jury in relation to the March 2019 in-custody death of Javier Ambler, authorities said. Travis County District Attorney José Garza announced late Wednesday former chief legal officer Jason Nassour was charged with a third-degree felony for tampering with physical evidence for events surrounding the death of Javier Ambler. The court has set his bond at $15,000. The charge will be prosecuted by the District Attorney Office's Civil Rights Unit and is pending in the 299th Judicial District Court. The district attorney's office said the same grand jury heard evidence related to the involvement of former Williamson County Sheriff Robert Chody. Texas law prohibits the disclosure of an indictment for Chody until a capias (order for an arrest) for the person charged is executed. Ambler, a Black 40-year-old postal worker and father of two, died on March 28, 2019, after being repeatedly tased by deputies after they stopped him for not dimming his lights. In police video, Ambler is heard complaining of an inability to breathe and alerting to a congestive heart failure.The encounter was captured by a video crew from the now-canceled "Live PD" reality show in which Williamson County Sheriff Robert Chody participated along with some of his deputies. In September, Chody was indicted by a grand jury on evidence tampering charges in connection with video of the in-custody death, according to a Patch October 2020 article. Nassour's charge stems from events surrounding Ambler's death and missing video footage. The video remains unaccounted for to this day The district attorney's office said a Travis County Grand Jury found probable cause to believe that, knowing that an investigation was pending or in progress, Nassour tampered with physical evidence with the intent to impair its availability as evidence in the investigation. "I know that these indictments will not bring peace to the Ambler family. No parent should have to bury their child," said Travis County District Attorney José Garza. "But we remain committed to seeing this through on behalf of not just Javier Ambler, but also our community." On Tuesday, a Travis Grand Jury indicted former Williamson County deputies Zachary Camden and James Johnson and charged the men with second-degree manslaughter. Bail had been set at $150,000 for each man and conditions include a prohibition on employment with law enforcement agencies or security companies. The charges for the two former deputies will be prosecuted by the District Attorney Office's Civil Rights Unit and is pending in the 299th Judicial District Court. The district attorney's office said the same grand jury on Tuesday heard evidence related to Austin Police Department Officer Michael Nissen's involvement in the incident, considered all relevant charges, and returned a No Bill for the officer. The indictments this week follows on earlier this month against Austin Police Department officer Christopher Taylor for first-degree murder in the death of Michael Ramos.