Despite troubled pasts, sheriff cast them as ‘Live PD’ stars
When Williamson County Sheriff Robert Chody needed a star to represent his department on the reality show “Live PD,” he found one in a tough-talking deputy he had hired months before.
Mark Luera joined the force in November 2017, about 10 months before TV cameras began rolling on patrols in the largely suburban county north of Austin.
Soon Luera was a fixture in olive green tactical gear narrating harrowing scenes during high-risk arrests and home invasions to highlight the dangers and drama of police work.
Last May, he provided a play-by-play for “Live PD” viewers of a SWAT takedown as he hung from the back of an armored truck rolling down a quiet street. He breathlessly explained to the camera in his next episode how he and four other officers had just violently taken down a driver, who Luera surmised was high when he tried to flee.
“A true leader,” Chody captioned a selfie of the two in June 2019. In another post, Chody called Luera a “Wilco Rock Star.”
The department’s star is also a disgraced former Austin police officer whom Chody hired days after the city had been set to fire him for using his special airport access to bypass security, then repeatedly lying about it.
In the past three years, Chody has hired at least a dozen officers with tarnished badges and checkered pasts for his force of 550.
In most instances, those deputies have quietly worked off camera with no subsequent allegations of misconduct.
But in others, Chody, who pursued the highly rated reality show to showcase his department, appeared to gamble on applicants who were willing to play to a TV audience. Former employees say that at times he treated deputies’ application process as “Live PD” casting calls rather than assessing their temperament for sound law enforcement.
With cameras trained on them, some have engaged in aggressive and questionable police tactics that created compelling episodes and opportunities for Chody to promote his office.
Among the officers with notable past records are the two who used a Taser on Javier Ambler in March 2019. The 40-year-old Black man died while begging for his life as “Live PD” cameras rolled.
“If you are looking for guys who are chasing Hollywood lights with blue lights, you’re going to get exactly what we got — and that is a disaster,” said Mike Klier, former president of the Williamson County Deputies Association, whom Chody fired in June after a dispute over whether Klier had received a direct order.
The state’s law enforcement commission has expressed serious concern about the department’s hiring practices, and at least one deputy quit because of the sheriff’s repeated dismissal of warning signs discovered during background checks.
Chody has added officers with significant disciplinary histories that include findings of dishonesty. One had felony and misdemeanor arrest records and another was investigated after assault allegations.
The department said the suggestion that “Live PD” played a role in its hiring is “ridiculous.” It said employment decisions are based on a review of each individual that “includes all the pluses and minuses.”
Revelations of questionable hiring practices come amid increasing scrutiny of the department after the American-Statesman and KVUE-TV in June revealed details of Ambler’s death. Two days later, “Live PD” producers canceled the show. In the weeks since, the newspaper has probed other instances in which deputies pummeled a suspect during an arrest and unnecessarily carried out a SWAT raid on the home of another suspect. Both were aired on “Live PD.”
Experts say hiring deputies with flawed histories damages a department’s community image, destroys its morale and unnecessarily burdens taxpayers who might have to pay for officers’ misdeeds.
“Law enforcement officers have the power to take away a citizen’s freedom, and even in rare instances to take away life,” said University of Pittsburgh law professor David Harris, a national police behavior expert. “You simply cannot entrust that to someone about whom there is any doubt that they have the proper skills and moral compass and temperament to do the job.”
A deputy’s Williamson rise
Throughout his department’s 18-month run on “Live PD,” Chody often claimed the show helped build public trust in law enforcement by creating more transparency. He routinely said it helped with recruiting, giving deputies a chance to soak in accolades from a built-in fan base called the “Live PD Nation.”
The Williamson County sheriff’s office joined the highly rated program for its third season, which began in September 2018.
By then Luera was nearing his first anniversary as a Chody deputy and was eyeing a promotion to the rank of detective, a move that came as his participation in the show grew.
Luera, who did not return an email or phone message this week seeking comment, had been hired despite an internal Austin police report that showed a record of misconduct.
Luera resigned from the Austin Police Department three days before signing on in Williamson County in 2017. An internal investigation found that Luera used a federally issued badge to circumvent security at the Austin airport for a Cancún vacation. He allowed his family and friends to go through security unchecked, records show.
The Police Department planned to fire him at a disciplinary hearing that November after investigators said they found that he was repeatedly dishonest about the incident.
Police Chief Brian Manley issued a scathing disciplinary report: “His dishonest statements during the criminal investigation will compromise his credibility as a witness if he continues to serve as a police officer.”
Williamson County said in a statement that it was aware of Luera’s “honorable and meritorious service” and “findings in the incident where he made mistakes.” The statement said officials had received positive recommendations from Luera’s former supervisors and others.
Chody promoted Luera to detective — the same rank he had when he left the Austin force — in March 2019. Four months later, as his stardom and fan base grew, Chody bypassed his own promotional process and promoted Luera to lieutenant in charge of the department’s training academy.
Luera inherited a facility that was already under investigation by state regulators examining allegations of racism and sexism among staffers. The investigation resulted in a sergeant’s resignation. State investigators also found the academy had changed academic standards without approval to make it easier for applicants.
In his 2½ years with the department, Luera has been at the center of at least two controversial incidents involving “Live PD.”
In May 2019, Luera and fellow deputies had a chance to arrest a suspect without fanfare when he showed up at a court hearing on another matter. But knowing cameras would be following Luera later that day, sheriff’s office staffers hid the arrest warrant, according to District Attorney Shawn Dick, so Asher Watsky would not be arrested in court. Then Luera led a dramatic raid on his home that was televised live.
The next month, Luera was one of five deputies involved in the violent arrest of Ramsey Mitchell, who said he was left with permanent scars after deputies piled on top of him, stunned him with a Taser, and kicked and punched him. He had tried to run away after being stopped for a minor traffic violation. Deputies involved in the arrest of Mitchell, who was wanted on drug charges, are being investigated by the Texas Rangers because of the incident.
Luera is one of two deputies Chody hired to his leadership ranks with a disciplinary past.
Cmdr. Steve Deaton played a behind-the-scenes “Live PD” role, helping orchestrate with producers the strategic placement of deputies around the county to capture the most compelling scenes.
Deaton had been disciplined while working as an Austin police official for making inappropriate comments about another officer and for leaving his badge and gun in a Target shopping cart. The sheriff’s department noted in a statement to the Statesman that Deaton “was the most highly decorated officer from APD.”
Chody reprimanded him after a complaint was made public that Deaton had challenged deputies to have sex with a “Live PD” producer — a claim that Chody said was not entirely factual.
Four months later, Chody did not discipline Deaton after disturbing Facebook posts were made public in which Deaton used toy figures to depict scenes of date rape and other graphic acts. Chody said Deaton, who declined to comment, had a First Amendment right to free speech. Deaton resigned the next month.
Two deputies at center of Ambler case
“Live PD” production was in full swing when Chody hired two deputies with disciplinary pasts. The two were friends from the nearby Bastrop County sheriff’s department, and one would become Chody’s newest star.
J.J. Johnson initiated the pursuit that led to Ambler’s death after the former football player failed to dim his headlights to oncoming traffic. Zach Camden, with whom Johnson had patrolled in Bastrop County, joined him at the scene when Ambler crashed to a stop after a 22-minute chase. Together, the two used a Taser on Ambler at least four times as he screamed that he couldn’t breathe and repeatedly told them he had congestive heart failure.
Both deputies had previously been turned down by the Williamson County sheriff’s office when they applied for jobs. But they were later hired under Chody. In a statement, attorneys representing Johnson and Camden said that their clients were hired “when they were both the most suitable applicant.”
In their response to a request the Statesman made under the Texas Public Information Act, sheriff’s officials redacted information about when and why they originally did not hire Johnson.
Other records show that Johnson drove with an invalid license two decades earlier. He also was the subject of an Austin Police Department assault report in 2005, although he was not arrested because investigators deemed the fight “mutual combat.” The report gives no other details.
While working in Bastrop County, Johnson received a two-day suspension for crashing his patrol car in September 2016.
After joining Chody’s department, Johnson became a rising star. As part of “Live PD” promotional efforts, he was interviewed by podcasters about his life in law enforcement and was a frequent face on Chody’s social media.
Last July, almost three months to the day after Ambler’s death, Chody called in to a live chat, promoting Johnson and the show.
“You’re doing an extremely good job and representing Wilco very well,” Chody said. “I just wanted to say hello and how proud I am not only of J.J., but of all the troops that are on ‘Live PD.’ ”
Before his time in Bastrop County, Camden worked in the Ingleside Police Department near Corpus Christi, where his personnel file included a finding of dishonesty with a six-day unpaid suspension over a dispute about his arrival time for work.
In a five-month period in late 2018, he was admonished three times at the Bastrop County sheriff’s office.
That August, supervisors took note when he called in sick but was later spotted coaching a football game. The next month, he was reprimanded after refusing at first to respond to a report about loud music and cockfighting. Camden eventually went.
In December 2018, supervisors required him to take classes on search-and-seizure laws after Camden entered a person’s home to search for a gun used in a disturbance. Supervisors were concerned that he might have violated the homeowner’s constitutional rights.
When he applied to join Williamson County’s department, two references noted that Camden had an “aggressive” patrol posture, records show.
How the state regulates officers
Texas law enforcement agencies are required to take several steps to check officers’ backgrounds before hiring them. The agency encourages thoroughness and heeding warning signs, but it gives police and sheriff’s departments wide latitude in employment decisions.
Agencies may not hire an officer whose license is revoked or suspended, which often happens as the result of a felony or Class A misdemeanor conviction, according to the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement.
Hiring agencies are also required to review forms containing a one-word classification of their departure from previous agencies — “honorable,” “dishonorable” or “general.” They must also contact departments to verify the officer’s employment.
Law enforcement agencies are not required to review applicants’ entire personnel files from their previous employers. Licensing officials, however, say that is the only way to reveal applicants’ broadest history and determine whether they have problematic patterns.
“It is on them. It is their responsibility to make sure they are doing a good background, and that they are getting all the material that is needed,” said Michael Antu, a TCOLE deputy chief.
In June, the commission finished an investigation involving the Williamson County sheriff’s office, launched after Dick, the district attorney, expressed concerns that the department might not be properly vetting applicants. The commission found no violations but noted that it had uncovered worrisome practices.
As part of the investigation, the state agency interviewed three former background investigators.
Lt. Derrick Dutton reported that “ex-APD officers were hired despite concerns they were uncovering.” He said that Deaton conducted Luera’s background investigation.
When Chody took office, Dutton said, they stopped performing exhaustive background checks on prospective employees.
Deputy Travis Randig told commission investigators “orders came down from above” that if an applicant was from the Austin Police Department, they could let an in-depth background investigation slide.
Sgt. Mark Davis told the commission that “it wasn’t an order not to investigate as much as it was that the decision-makers didn’t care.”
In an interview with the Statesman, Davis said he left the department because he was troubled by Chody’s hiring process.
“It was atrocious,” Davis said.
Sheriff’s fight with county leaders
Klier, the former president of the Williamson County Deputies Association, and others said Chody’s desire to satisfy “Live PD” producers and bring on officers willing to amp up ordinary police work to make good TV created a combustible mix.
Thoughtful policing was replaced by overly aggressive tactics, they say, as deputies felt compelled to please Chody.
“Glad we could make some good TV for the boss man,” Deputy Jarred Dalton tweeted in May 2019, shortly before a “Live PD” taping. In another post he wrote, “Gonna try to get some good stuff stirred up for y'all tonight.”
County commissioners expressed concern about the show and worried how it might affect policing.
But the sheriff doubled down.
After commissioners in August 2019 canceled a contract with the show, Chody struck his own deal with “Live PD” producers. County commissioners then sued Chody, claiming that he did so outside of his legal authority. The lawsuit charges that Chody is “more concerned about show business than sheriff business.”
More lawsuits are on the horizon for Chody stemming from two “Live PD” encounters. Ambler’s family plans to file a wrongful death and excessive force case in federal court. Watksy’s father, Gary Watsky, is also considering a lawsuit to recover damages for the raid at his home, among other claims.
The department said in its statement that such lawsuits are “always possible when trying to address crime and criminals.”
Harris, the Pittsburgh professor, said agencies have particular difficulty with such lawsuits when they involve officers with disciplinary files.
“If you overlook those things because they know somebody, or because it is a friend or a friend of a friend, and you are doing a favor, woe unto you,” he said. “Because when something goes wrong, there is just no defense to that.”
As recently as June, Chody’s chief deputy praised the “professionalism” of Johnson and Camden in the Ambler case.
Johnson and Camden are under investigation by Travis County prosecutors for their use of force against Ambler, and the case will go before a grand jury next year. A separate grand jury in Williamson County is trying to determine whether “Live PD” footage of the encounter was illegally destroyed.
Williamson County prosecutors and the Texas Rangers also are investigating the incident involving Mitchell for possible excessive force charges.
Klier said he is concerned that Chody’s hiring practices are another example of how the lights of “Live PD” have overshadowed good policing.
“What does right look like for the Williamson County sheriff’s office? What is our moral barometer? I will tell you — after being here for six years — I can tell you it is going the wrong way,” he said.
