Ambler, 40, died in March 2019 after a car chase that began in Williamson County and ended in the nearby town of Austin. During the arrest, Ambler could be heard in the body camera footage that he often could not breathe for Sharif’s deputies.
But there was also an additional video from the A&E reality show “Live PD” with chasing officers. A&E said the footage was never broadcast and that the network and its creators were “never asked for footage or interviews by investigators from law enforcement or the district attorney’s office.”
The lawsuit filed in federal court in the Austin Stein Division of the Texas Stein Division named Ambler’s parents, Xavier and Meritaza Ambler, Amber’s two heirs, JRA and JAA and JAA’s mother, Michelle Btia, as plaintiffs.
The complaint alleges that Williamson County Sheriff Robert Choudy allowed the A&E show “Live PD” to film his officers at work because he “believes that Live PD helps his department recruit officers, and that Williamson County The sheriff has created an essential component of the department.
A and E are not named as defendants in the suit.
In addition to citing several instances of alleged excessive violence by both Chodi and his officers, the complaint states that “Chodi encouraged his officers to engage in dangerous, high-risk tactics as it makes for more entertaining television to serve the live PD.”
The complaint alleges that, like the encounter with Ambler, the violence escalated into a shooting.
CNN has emailed A&E to comment on the lawsuit against Williamson County and has not heard back.
The car chase that ended in a deadly arrest
The complaint said that when the deputy of Williamson County Sheriff, who had the crew of the movie “Live PD” in the car, passed in the opposite direction, Ambler was pulled over for failing to dim his lights.
Around Fischer turned and began to chase Ambler when he failed to pull over. The sheriff’s deputy chased “on interdepartmental radio.” Another sheriff’s deputy then chased and joined, which according to the complaint continued “for twenty minutes.”
Chase then crossed into the Austin Police Department area, and despite being told to stop by the Austin Police Department, “the chase was inherently dangerous, and Ambler was only suspected of committing a trivial crime,” Chase continued, and Ambler crashed his car. . To complain
The complaint states that Ambeler, who weighed about 500 pounds and had a heart condition, was fit, a deputy touched him, patted him several times, and said he also had a stomach. Heart failure according to the complaint.
Before being bored and handcuffed again, Ambler told deputies “I can’t breathe” five times, which he stopped breathing at the time of the complaint. Ambler was taken to hospital and was pronounced dead shortly afterwards, according to the complaint.
Choubey was convicted in September of tampering with physical evidence in an investigation into Ambler’s death, a third-degree felony, punishable by up to 10 years in prison. Chodi denied the allegations.
The sheriff and his attorneys both criticized Williamson and district attorneys in neighboring Travis County for using him as a “scapegoat” after failing to investigate Amber’s death for more than a year after the incident.
Video of the incident ‘disappeared’, the complaint says
Based on the complaint, a video of the event “disappeared” after Embeller’s death.
Dan Abrams, who previously hosted the show, told CNN in June that there was a policy to destroy footage after a certain period of time. He said the video was retained for three months at the request of Williamson County when they investigated the incident.
“They then informed ‘Live PD’ that the investigation was complete. This was a year ago. The last one from ‘Live PD’ had heard of this video.”
Chodi’s lawyer told CNN on Monday that he had “no comment.”
CNN also reached out to Williamson County to comment.
“Williamson County is not commenting on the pending or current lawsuit,” Williamson County Public Affairs Manager Connie Odom wrote in an email Monday.
Although his name is in the complaint, CNN does not name the two officers involved as they have not been charged with any crime.
The complaint also alleges that the terms of Ambler’s arrest violated the Disability Act for Americans due to Ambler’s weight and his heart condition.
The complaint states that the Ambler family is being represented by Stein in Texas, Romanosi and Landland, LLC in Chicago, and Attorney Ben Krump.
During a news conference Monday, Attorney Jeff Edwards told reporters that while he would not reveal a specific number in the direction of the damages, it would be “very, very significant.”
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