State rests, defense gives second opening statement at in-custody death trial
The prosecution rested its case going into the second week of trial for two former Williamson County Sheriff's deputies charged with the in-custody death of Javier Ambler.
AUSTIN (KXAN) — The prosecution rested its case going into the second week of trial for two former Williamson County Sheriff's deputies charged with the in-custody death of Javier Ambler.
James Johnson and Zach Camden are both charged with manslaughter for Ambler’s death. They’re accused of acting recklessly by using a taser despite him telling officers he had a heart condition.
In March 2019, Johnson attempted to pull Ambler over for failure to dim his headlights, a chase ensued and ended in a crash. Deputies struggled to arrest Ambler, and after being tased and handcuffed, officers realized Ambler had become unresponsive.
A camera crew with the reality show LivePD was also following the deputies the night of Ambler's death and testified during the first week of the trial.
State rests, defense makes second opening statement
The state rested its case early into proceedings Tuesday morning. Prosecutors did not call any witnesses to the stand but did question one of the defense's witnesses before their second opening statement to jurors.
Judge Karen Sage explained to jurors that the defense, made up of Ken Ervin and Doug O'Connell, elected to split their opening statements.
She said they were allowed to do so because there are two defendants in this case, Ervin presented the first opening statement on the first day of trial.
O'Connell presented this second opening statement to the jury. He argued that jurors have heard conflicting testimonies throughout the case from the state's use of force expert and current police officers.
He argued that jurors had already heard that Ambler was severely ill before his death and that he was not taking prescribed heart medications as well.
Just before 11 a.m., Mark Sawa was brought in for testimony. He's previously served as a deputy for the Travis County Sheriff's Office. He now works as a police use of force consultant.