AUSTIN, Texas (KXAN) — An attorney representing two former sheriff’s deputies who are charged with an in-custody death was tased in a demonstration for jurors Wednesday morning in a Texas courtroom.
James Johnson and Zach Camden, former deputies in Williamson County, are both charged with manslaughter in connection with the death of Javier Ambler.
Ambler died in March 2019 after leading police on a 20-minute chase and crashing. The former deputies are accused of acting recklessly while trying to arrest Ambler by using a Taser, despite Ambler telling officers he had a heart condition.
The prosecution rested its case Tuesday morning. Soon after, the defense gave its second opening statement to the jury.
On Wednesday, a crew from Axon, a company that makes Tasers like the one used in Ambler’s arrest, set up thick black foam pads in front of the jury box. The jury was brought in and each juror was given a pair of safety glasses.
Clad in a gray T-shirt and sneakers, defense attorney Ken Ervin stood in front of Ben Bloodworth, a senior master instructor with Axon, positioned a few feet behind him.
Bloodworth raised his arms, the bright yellow Taser in his hands. He shouted the warning “Taser, Taser, Taser” before pulling the trigger. The Taser’s probes, attached to the device with thin, shiny wires, flew out of the device, one landing in Ervin’s lower back, the other in his leg.
Ervin seized up, his jaw clenched and visibly in pain, standing with the help of two men with an arm hooked under his.
After the circuit finished, Ervin slumped, remaining standing with help from spotters. After a few moments, Ervin appeared to recover and walked out of the courtroom with the crew, returning to his seat next to the defendants a couple of minutes later.
Bloodworth fielded questions from the state about Taser safety. Prosecutors especially focused on the possible dangers of drive stunning.
He explained that a drive stun is when the front of the Taser is directly pressed against a part of a suspect’s body.
On trial day 3, Camden could be seen on footage performing a drive stun on Ambler. While grainy, it appears the Taser made contact with Ambler’s upper back or neck.
Bloodworth explained that operators are instructed to avoid hitting the upper chest, neck, and groin as that can lead to serious injuries. However, he said contact from a drive stun is more localized than when Taser prongs are deployed.
“The majority of the time, drive stun is only ever going to be localized-area pain. It’s not going to cause neuromuscular incapacitation. That’s not going to override the body’s ability to control the muscles voluntarily,” Bloodworth said.
The defense rested its case after Bloodsworth’s testimony. Both sides and the judge are now drafting the formal charges for Johnson and Camden, expected to be read for jurors Thursday.
