LIGHTS. CAMERA. VIOLENCE.

Austin American-Statesman and KVUE-TV
6/08/2020

Fifteen months after their son died, Javier and Maritza Ambler sat at a conference table at their attorney’s office to talk with a reporter. The grieving parents only knew that Javier Ambler II, a 40-year-old Black father, had died in the custody of the Williamson County sheriff’s office. Austin journalist Tony Plohetski was the first to tell them the horrific details: Ambler had begged for his life, screaming “save me” as deputies repeatedly Tased him -- all while reality TV crews filmed. The parents sat in stunned silence.

A troubling tip about Ambler’s death had landed on Plohetski’s desk in February 2020. More than a year before the nation’s attention turned to the death of George Floyd, Ambler screamed “I can’t breathe!” as he died at the hands of deputies in March 2019. The millionaire, celebrity-seeking Williamson County sheriff, Robert Chody, had done his best to keep the incident under wraps. But Plohetski knew there was an important truth behind that tip. So he dug and fought for information and eventually exposed both the details of Ambler’s brutal death and a policing culture that glorified violence -- often for the sake of a television show -- that had been meted out on dozens of people, a disproportionate number of them Black.

None of this would have been known but for his five-month rolling investigation into one of the state's most notorious tough-on-crime counties. It culminated in an indictment against the once-untouchable sheriff for his alleged involvement in destroying “Live PD” footage of Ambler’s death. Informed by Plohetski’s reporting, county voters ousted the sheriff in November. The highly-rated TV show, which was criticized for deleting crucial video and exploiting suspects, was canceled. Texas lawmakers vowed to impose restrictions on commercial production crews partnering with police to create reality television. Our spotlight on Ambler’s death spurred action on a dormant investigation into the conduct of the deputies who Tased Ambler. And we told Ambler’s grieving parents, who had been searching fruitlessly for answers, the truth about what happened to their son.

Sheriff Robert Chody was intent on covering up the truth about Ambler’s death and protecting the political persona he had created for his voters and “Live PD’s” audience. From the outset of our reporting until his ouster in the November election, Chody sought to hide information and publicly discredit reporting by Plohetski, who works jointly with the Austin American-Statesman, part of the USA Today Network, and local ABC affiliate KVUE.

The Williamson County sheriff’s office denied our requests for records in the death of Javier Ambler, which began in February, and appealed to the Texas Attorney General to keep the documents secret. The denial delayed our reporting for three months until the AG ruled in our favor. The sheriff’s office appealed each of our subsequent requests, even for basic information.

Before publishing our first story in Ambler’s death, Plohetski confronted a longstanding but discretionary practice among county prosecutors and Austin police of withholding police video until a potential case against officers is resolved. A source allowed Plohetski to view the only video that existed -- from an Austin officer who arrived at the scene after the chase involving
Ambler crossed jurisdictional lines. Plohetski appealed to the Travis County District Attorney and Austin police chief, stressing the need for immediate and full transparency. After a week of mounting pressure, the officials agreed -- on a Saturday night, no less -- to release the officer’s body camera video. The disclosure came less than 48 hours before we published our first report June 8, 2020.

Williamson County Sheriff Robert Chody and his office grew increasingly hostile as our reporting coincided with his reelection campaign. When our reporting began, the sheriff still enjoyed seemingly widespread community support, much of it from “Live PD.” He galvanized fans as he took aim at our reporting. He posted Plohetski’s information requests on his social media channels accusing him of “fishing” to malign the sheriff. Using Facebook, supporters coordinated an email harassment campaign of Plohetski. And Chody posted on social media copies of routine text messages between Plohetski and the Williamson County District Attorney, who had opened a joint investigation with Travis County prosecutors into the destruction of “Live PD” video. In a podcast the week before the election, Chody again sought to discredit Plohetski’s reporting, calling him a “radical left” journalist. Chody lost resoundingly in a county that had not elected a Democrat in nearly 30 years.

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Submitted by Tony Plohetski.