"Law & Disorder"

STORYTELLING CATEGORY

KVUE-TV
03/08/2021

For decades, Williamson County, just north of Austin, held the well-earned reputation as one the state’s most tough-on-crime counties.

It came at a terrifying cost.

In this documentary/news special, KVUE-TV, the ABC affiliate in Austin, revealed through compelling interviews and historic footage and photos the origins of Williamson County’s legacy, the damage it has wrought on those victimized by it, and how it is now the center of a culture clash amid a changing population.

“Law & Disorder” resulted from an effort to place reporting by Austin journalist Tony Plohetski in the in-custody death of Javier Ambler II in a broader context of Williamson County’s reputation and to enlighten new residents in one of the state’s fastest-growing counties of its dark history. It was co-produced by Plohetski, photojournalist Brian Bell and Executive Producer Laura Sather.

In 2020, Plohetski, working in partnership with KVUE and the Austin American-Statesman, revealed the latest example of flawed law enforcement and the criminal justice system in Ambler’s death. Williamson County deputies chased the 40-year-old Black father in a pursuit that started because he failed to dim his headlights and died after a confrontation with deputies – all while a TV reality show was filmed. His reporting helped spur an investigation that resulted in indictments against the deputies, the then-sheriff and an assistant county attorney and a Legislative ban on law enforcement partnering with reality TV production companies.

A year earlier, Plohetski and Bell also chronicled the previously untold story of a Williamson County man who lived a quarter-century with the shame as a registered sex offender, only to have his conviction overturned because of allegations of prosecutorial misconduct. And two years earlier, Plohetski led local coverage in the case of Greg Kelley, a high school football star who spent three years in prison on child sex abuse charges before courts declared him innocent after revelations of a flawed police investigation. Williamson County also is home to the notorious case of Michael Morton, whose wrongful conviction in his wife’s murder resulted in him serving 25 years in prison and in new legal requirements for prosecutors to disclose evidence.

As part of “Law & Disorder,” we also examined how residents are increasingly pushing for change as the county’s traditionally conservative population is confronted with a wave of newer progressive residents and voters, chipping away at its once-prized reputation.

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Submitted by Tony Plohetski.