AUSTIN, Texas — Travis County District Attorney José Garza announced the return of two indictments by a Travis County grand jury against former Williamson County Sheriff’s Office deputies James Johnson and Zachary Camden on Tuesday. Both have been charged with second-degree manslaughter in the death of Javier Ambler. 

The court has set bail in the amount of $150,000 for each man. The court also set conditions that prohibit them from working with law enforcement agencies or security companies. 

“With these indictments, we have taken another critical step towards justice for the Ambler family and for our community,” said Travis County District Attorney Garza. “While we can never take away the pain of the Ambler family, the grand jury has sent a clear message that no one is above the law.”

This is one of several arrests made in this case. In September 2020, then-Williamson County Sheriff Robert Chody and Williamson County Attorney Jason Nassour were indicted and charged with tampering/fabricating physical evidence with intent to impair.

In October 2020, Ambler's family sued Williamson County and is seeking unspecified damages for Ambler’s parents as well as his two young sons.

In March 2019, deputies engaged in a chase with Ambler and a Live PD crew filmed the incident. Ambler subsequently told the deputies that he couldn’t breathe, and deputies deployed a Taser on him.

Dash cam video recorded the incident, but the footage captured by Live PD was later destroyed, according to a joint report from the Austin America-Statesman and KVUE-TV, the ABC television affiliate for the Austin area.