Williamson County agrees to $2.5 million settlement in Live PD case

CEDAR PARK, Texas – Williamson County has agreed to pay $2.5 million to a Cedar Park resident who claims the sheriff’s office staged his son’s arrest for the now-canceled reality TV show Live PD.

“I believe that no amount of money can ever make up for the injustice that occurred here,” said Brad Vinson, who represents plaintiff Gary Watsky. “The civil injustice caused here by Robert Chody and his connections to Live PD, but my client is satisfied at this point.”

In 2020, Gary Watsky’s son Asher Watsky was at the Williamson County Courthouse for a hearing on another case; However, Asher had additional assault charges.

Vinson believes he should have been arrested for this immediately when he appeared in court that day.

“We spoke to witnesses who were part of the court staff and they were able to tell that the warrant was not in the system,” Vinson said. “It was removed from their view, meaning it was active at some point before and then stopped being active.”

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The arrest occurred several hours later at Asher and Gary’s home in Cedar Park.

“He was sitting in his house when two military vehicles rolled down the street,” Vinson said. “Men with assault rifles, anti-aircraft vests and stun grenades break down the front and back doors and begin clearing the house as if there was a terrorist,” Vinson said.

When the sheriff’s office arrested Asher, Live PD was filming.

“Sheriff Chody staged an arrest for the purposes of Live PD,” Vinson said.

Vinson believes someone intentionally hid the warrant while Asher was in court so Live PD could record the arrest later.

“My client was injured and suffered psychological damage and post-traumatic stress disorder for years,” Vinson said. “He’s still suffering from it.”

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This isn’t the first time the sheriff’s office has gotten into trouble over Live PD.

In 2019, Javier Ambler died after a chase and subsequent arrest by police. Everything was recorded on Live PD, but those videos have been deleted.

In August of this year, former Sheriff Robert Chody was prosecuted over the missing videos, but a judge paused the trial and ruled against the prosecution’s arguments based on federal privacy law.

The county also reached a $5 million settlement in Ambler’s wrongful death lawsuit.

“Anytime you see a settlement like this in a case, I think it sends a message that no one is above the law, including the law itself, right,” Vinson said. “It sends a message that we all need to be held accountable for our actions, and that’s exactly what this settlement has done.”

County Sheriff and former Sheriff Robert Chody declined to comment for this story.

Another lawsuit regarding Live PD is pending in the district.