Williamson County deputy pleads guilty in assault case, gives up peace officer license

A Williamson County sheriff's deputy has pleaded guilty to official oppression and assault in a 2019 case that involved forcing a driver from her car and throwing her on the ground, officials said.

Christopher Pisa, 29, was sentenced to 12 months in county jail, which was probated to 18 months on probation, according to a news release from the district attorney's office on Tuesday.

His conditions of probation include permanently surrendering his peace officer license and spending six days in jail, the release said. Pisa will be required to serve three days in county jail immediately and the remaining three days on the anniversary of his offense in April 2025, the release said.

It said he also is required to complete 200 hours of community service and to write a letter of apology to the victim.

Pisa pleaded guilty to the Class A misdemeanor charges on Monday, the release said. A Class A misdemeanor is punishable by up to a year in county jail and a fine up to $4,000. The incident happened on April 21, 2019, while he was working as a patrol officer and stopped a car that 29-year-old Army veteran Imani Nembhard was driving, officials said.

More: Officers rewarded for use of force with steakhouse gift cards, former Williamson deputies say

He stopped Nembhard because she was driving without a front license plate. She had her two children in the backseat of the vehicle. "Pisa, under the assumption that the children were required to be in car safety seats, questioned Ms. Nembhard's love for her children," the release said.

He demanded she get out of the vehicle and then grabbed her "in an effort to handcuff her without lawful cause," the release said. It said Nembhard questioned Pisa's actions and then he "dramatically escalated the situation by forcibly removing her from the vehicle and violently slamming her to the ground."

More: Williamson County settles excessive force lawsuit for $120,000 involving 2019 traffic stop

It said he also placed his knee on her arm and grabbed her hair as he tried to handcuff her. Pisa arrested Nembhard for the felony offense of assault on a public servant and the misdemeanor offense of resisting arrest, officials said.

The district attorney's office declined the felony charge and asked the Texas Rangers to investigate the incident, the release said. It said Nembhard was in jail for the misdemeanor charge for three days until she was able to make bail, but the charge was later declined by the county attorney's office.

After the Texas Rangers investigation, a Williamson County grand jury indicted Pisa on Oct. 15, 2020, for the misdemeanor offenses of official oppression and assault. The cases were handled by the district attorney's office because they were crimes of official misconduct, the release said.

“To restore faith in our justice system, we must ensure that those who are entrusted with power are accountable for their actions," said Williamson County District Attorney Shawn Dick. "This case reaffirms our commitment to impartiality and integrity within the law enforcement community. Deputy Pisa’s guilty plea is a testament to our unwavering pursuit of justice, regardless of rank or position.”

Pisa resigned from the sheriff's office two days after arresting Nembhard. He later told investigators he thought he was going to get a steakhouse gift card from the sheriff's office because that was how deputies were rewarded for using force.

Pisa was rehired by Sheriff Mike Gleason in 2020. Gleason has previously said he rehired Pisa because he believes that instructors skipped critical de-escalation courses for Pisa to get him on the street more quickly.

Williamson County commissioners approved paying $120,000 in 2023 to settle an excessive force lawsuit that Nembhard filed against Pisa and former Williamson County Sheriff Robert Chody.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Williamson County Deputy Chris Pisa pleads guilty in assault case