Austin Statesman
“I am not resisting. Sir, I can’t breathe. ... Please. ... Please. Save me.” Javier Ambler, a 40-year-old former postal worker, died after a Williamson County deputy pulled him over for failing to dim his lights driving home from a poker game 1/
Austin area police chase ends in death as 'Live PD' cameras roll
Javier Ambler was driving home from a friendly poker game in the early hours of March 28, 2019, when a Williamson County sheriff’s deputy noticed that he failed to dim the headlights of his SUV o...[url=https://t.co/WxYJMTZ19v?amp=1]
statesman.com
DEATH IN CUSTODY 8:46 PM‘Live PD’ reality show canceled after police protests, Javier Ambler death
Austin area police chase ends in death as ‘Live PD’ cameras roll
1Austin area police chase ends in death as ‘Live PD’ cameras rollJun 8 at 2:04 PM
2‘Live PD’ says video of in-custody death of Javier Ambler has been destroyedJun 10 at 3:06 PM
By Tony Plohetski
Posted Jun 8, 2020 at 2:04 PM
Javier Ambler was driving home from a friendly poker game in the early hours of March 28, 2019, when a Williamson County sheriff’s deputy noticed that he failed to dim the headlights of his SUV to oncoming traffic.
Twenty-eight minutes later, the black father of two sons lay dying on a North Austin street after deputies held him down and used Tasers on him four times while a crew from A&E’s reality show “Live PD” filmed.
Ambler, a 40-year-old former postal worker, repeatedly pleaded for mercy, telling deputies he had congestive heart failure and couldn’t breathe. He cried, “Save me,” before deputies deployed a final shock.
His death never made headlines.
Now, after months of questioning and requests for information from the Austin American-Statesman and KVUE-TV, recently released documents and police video shed light on that fatal night at a time when the nation confronts decades of injustice against minorities by law enforcement.
A photo of Javier Ambler II sits near his urn and a plaque with his high school football jersey number at his parents’ home in Killeen. He died in police custody on March 28, 2019. [BRONTE WITTPENN/AMERICAN-STATESMAN]
Maritza Ambler and her husband, Javier, sit in the living room under pictures of their son, Javier Antonio Ambler II, at their home in Killeen on Friday. He died in police custody in North Austin on March 28, 2019, after a police chase that started when a Williamson County deputy noticed he did not dim his high beam headlights for oncoming traffic. [BRONTE WITTPENN/AMERICAN-STATESMAN]
Bronte Wittpenn
A death-in-custody report filed with the Texas attorney general’s office — a procedure required anytime a person dies in police custody — said Javier Ambler II did not attempt to, nor did he assault deputies; he did not verbally threaten others nor attempt to get control of any officers’ weapons. He died after a Taser was used on him four times during his arrest. [Family photo]
Javier Ambler II and his son J’Vaughn, shown in a family photo. Ambler died while in police custody in March 2019. [Family photo]
Williamson County Sheriff Robert Chody said that since taking office three years ago, he has tried to move past what he said was a tradition of “chase until the wheels fall off” and encourage deputies to end car chases. Chody said he has also bolstered oversight of pursuits. [RICARDO B. BRAZZIELL/AMERICAN-STATESMAN 2019]
Ricardo Brazziell
Maritza Ambler walks in her neighborhood in Killeen on Friday. When Ambler lived in Panama, she grew up walking long distances. Now that Ambler is retired, she makes it a priority to walk around her neighborhood to meditate and stay healthy. “I think about my son,” she said. Her son, Javier Ambler II, died in police custody on March 28, 2019. “Sometimes, I feel his presence. I feel him walking with me.” [BRONTE WITTPENN/AMERICAN-STATESMAN]
Bronte Wittpenn
The charm on Maritza Ambler’s necklace reads “always in my heart.” It holds some of her son’s ashes. Javier Ambler II died in police custody on March 28, 2019. [BRONTE WITTPENN/AMERICAN-STATESMAN]
Bronte Wittpenn
A portrait of Maritza Ambler’s son hangs in her Killeen home. Her son’s brother-in-law made it after Javier Ambler II died in police custody on March 28, 2019. [BRONTE WITTPENN/AMERICAN-STATESMAN]
Bronte Wittpenn
Maritza Ambler and Javier Ambler hold a photo of their son, Javier Antonio Ambler II. He died in police custody in North Austin on March 28, 2019, after a police chase that started when a Williamson County deputy noticed he did not dim his high beam headlights for oncoming traffic. The Amblers say the Williamson County sheriff’s office has not told them how their son died or why officers chased him. “We need some closure,” Javier Ambler Sr. said. “And we want justice.” [BRONTE WITTPENN/AMERICAN-STATESMAN]
Bronte Wittpenn
Javier Ambler II’s urn rests on a shelf near photos and other mementos in his parents’ Killeen home. Ambler was a defensive end at Ellison High School in Killeen and received a football scholarship to Blinn College before enrolling at Prairie View A&M University. He died in police custody on March 28, 2019. [BRONTE WITTPENN/AMERICAN-STATESMAN]
Bronte Wittpenn
A photo of Javier Ambler II sits near his urn and a plaque with his high school football jersey number at his parents’ home in Killeen. He died in police custody on March 28, 2019. [BRONTE WITTPENN/AMERICAN-STATESMAN]
Bronte Wittpenn
Maritza Ambler and her husband, Javier, sit in the living room under pictures of their son, Javier Antonio Ambler II, at their home in Killeen on Friday. He died in police custody in North Austin on March 28, 2019, after a police chase that started when a Williamson County deputy noticed he did not dim his high beam headlights for oncoming traffic. [BRONTE WITTPENN/AMERICAN-STATESMAN]
Bronte Wittpenn
Javier Ambler II and his son J’Vaughn, shown in a family photo. Ambler died while in police custody in March 2019. [Family photo]
Protests have roiled the country since the Memorial Day death of George Floyd, a black man pinned under the knee of a white Minneapolis police officer for nearly nine minutes as he lost consciousness and never regained it.
Communities throughout Central Texas have called for police reforms and transparency amid the racial unrest and the recent death of Michael Ramos, an unarmed black Hispanic man killed by Austin police. The details of Ambler’s deadly encounter with Williamson County deputies, which came to light only because of ongoing media pressure, bring intensified focus on the need for accountability among law enforcement agencies.
Ambler’s death also renews scrutiny on a suburban agency that has been under fire for more than a year, largely because of its relationship with the reality TV show.
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