Former district judge and Live PD photographer testified on second day of Chody trial

WILLIAMSON COUNTY, Texas — Testimony in the trial of former Williamson County Sheriff Robert Chody and former District Attorney Jason Nassour continued for a second day.

They are accused of tampering with evidence for allegedly deleting raw video of the chase and subsequent death of Javier Ambler in 2019.

On Wednesday, the judge and attorneys for both sides spent a lot of time discussing what the prosecution was and was not allowed to argue. But the jury also heard testimony from a former Williamson County judge and a former Live PD cameraman.

Former Williamson County Judge Dan Gattis took the stand to testify about how the contract between the county and Big Fish Productions was approved. “For us, this is a very different contract. I mean, we often pave roads or paths or buy paper, you know, stuff like that, but this is very different. Very interesting. I had some concerns. I have concerns about doing a show like that back then. I still have concerns about doing a show like that back then, not throwing stones at television. But I do worry about the public. I worry about someone being caught on video. It was the worst day of their life,” Gattis told CBS Austin. Big Fish is the production company behind the now-canceled Live PD — the reality show that followed Williamson County sheriff's deputies on patrol.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE| Testimony begins in tampering trial of former Wilco sheriff and district attorney

On March 28, 2019, Javier Ambler died in custody after police chased him into Travis County, where he crashed. This week, prosecutors are trying to prove that former Williamson County Sheriff Robert Chody and District Attorney Jason Nassour destroyed unedited video of the events of that night.

“In addition, the county government and all of its legal entities and the general counsel reviewed the contract with Big Fish, their legal team, and made changes to arrive at the contract that was ultimately signed. The sheriff cannot take any action without the county commissioner's court,” Gattis said.

Chody and Nassour's defense argues that the contract between Big Fish and the county stipulated that the video would be deleted 30 days after it was recorded unless there was a court order, which was approved by Williamson County commissioners.

Former Williamson County Deputy Sheriff James Johnson was in the courtroom to support his former boss. “I was also charged. Same process. Was exonerated. Now, years later, I want to get back the support I received,” he said. Johnson was acquitted of manslaughter charges in Ambler's death earlier this year. “How do you think it's going?” I asked him. “I think things are coming to light that, if they had come to light in full detail in 2020, during the insurrection, wouldn't be here,” Johnson replied.

On Wednesday afternoon, the jury heard testimony from a cameraman who accompanied Deputy Johnson that evening. He testified that it became clear that Javier Ambler was having health problems.