LULAC Calls Jailing Of Texas Sheriff And $10K Bond Insufficient In Case Of Afro-Latino’s Death By Police On Reality TV Show

Nation’s Oldest and Largest Latino Civil Rights Organization Says Arrest and Processing of Williamson County Sheriff Is Not Justice!

Washington, DC - The League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) issued a statement today after Sheriff Robert Chody was arrested and charged with one count of evidence tampering, a third-degree felony for destroying a video in the death of Javier Ambler last year during the taping of a national TV police show.

“Monday’s arrest comes three months after the fact and it is outrageous that this is the best our communities can expect when a black or Latino is killed at the hands of police,” said Domingo Garcia, LULAC National President. “Mr. Ambler’s death was caught on tape and instead of letting a jury decide the circumstances of what happened to determine the fate of the officers involved, Sheriff Chody took the law into his own hands and denied the community and Mr. Ambler’s family the justice they deserve,” adds Garcia.

The chase and death of Ambler from Georgetown, Texas to the north edge of Austin was caught on-camera during a broadcast on A&E Network’s, “Live PD”. Ambler is shown being shot with a Taser four times and struggling to breath as officer’s pinned him to the ground on his stomach. Deputies said they arrested Ambler because he refused to dim his car lights and failed to stop when they pursued him.

Sheriff Chody’s arrest comes just days after published reports about gift cards being awarded to two of the deputies involved in Ambler’s death and other members of the department. A former-deputy-turned-whistleblower says the gift cards to a local steakhouse and other area restaurants were handed out with knowledge from the top to officers who were “Wilco badasses” engaged in “good use of force”.

“This tragic incident happened more than a year ago in March, 2019 and the video would have shed important light on what happened that led to 40-year old Javier Ambler’s death,” says Garcia. “To add insult to injury, for the grand jury to charge Chody with evidence tampering when his clear intent is obstruction of justice after the fact is beyond explanation or justification. LULAC demands action by the U.S. Justice Department if local or state officials can’t or won’t do their jobs and we intend to seek that immediately,” he added.

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About LULAC
The League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) is the nation’s largest and oldest civil rights volunteer-based organization that empowers Hispanic Americans and builds strong Latino communities. Headquartered in Washington, DC, with 1,000 councils around the United States and Puerto Rico, LULAC’s programs, services and advocacy address the most important issues for Latinos, meeting critical needs of today and the future. For more information, visit https://lulac.org/