Texas sheriff indicted for the destruction of Live PD footage of deputies killing a Black man

Austin-American Statesman

A grand jury today indicted Williamson County Sheriff Robert Chody on a felony evidence tampering charge in the destruction of Live PD's footage showing deputies chasing and using force on Javier Ambler that led to his death. The 40-year-old Black man was killed in March 2019 after he was stopped for failing to dim the headlights of his SUV to oncoming traffic. While Live PD cameras rolled, deputies held him down and used tasers multiple times as he cried "Save me!" Ambler told deputies he had congestive heart failure and couldn’t breathe. The Austin-American Statesman reported on the footage on June 8 amid the George Floyd protests. Two days later, A&E canceled Live PD. Chody was charged with a third-degree felony and faces up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000. Investigators told the Statesman this spring "that they had been working for months to obtain the video and believed Williamson County sheriff’s officials and Live PD had stonewalled the investigation by refusing to release it," reports The Statesman's Tony Plothetski, adding: "Live PD host Dan Abrams said in television interviews and in a post on his web site that sheriff’s officials initially asked producers to preserve the video. Two months after Ambler’s death, Chody told them the investigation was completed. At that point, Abrams said, producers destroyed the video." The district attorney opted not to pursue charges against Live PD, saying: “My interest was not in pursuing a company out of New York."