Nearly 20 employees of the Williamson County sheriff’s office, including two deputies involved in the death of Javier Ambler II, have resigned or been fired as newly elected Sheriff Mike Gleason reboots a beleaguered department that has been under scrutiny for months.
Other deputies who also have departed in the past two weeks include several highlighted by the American-Statesman in an ongoing investigation into questionable force and law enforcement tactics used during the tenure of former sheriff Robert Chody.
Gleason, who took office Jan. 1 after becoming the first Democrat elected to a countywide position in nearly 30 years, said he wants to restore the department’s reputation and rebuild badly damaged community trust.