WILLIAMSON COUNTY, Texas — A former Williamson County deputy is pleading guilty to assault and official oppression.
The plea deal reached on Monday comes five years after the incident where video shows Christopher Pisa took down a 29-year-old Army veteran who was in the car with her children.
Pisa pulled over Imani Nembhard with her two young children in the back seat because she didn't have a front license plate in the car she was driving. Nembhard was driving her brother's car on Easter Sunday 2019 on Texas Highway 195 when Pisa stopped her.
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Moments into the stop, Pisa asked Nembhard if she loves her daughters and why they were not in a car seat. After Nembhard told Pisa the car wasn't hers, he asked her to shut off her engine. Nembhard told Pisa she didn't feel safe turning the car off. He then walked to the driver's side of the car and threw her to the ground.
Pisa took Nembhard to jail on a charge of assaulting a peace officer and resisting arrest, but those were later dismissed. The Texas Rangers investigated the incident, and a Williamson County grand jury indicted Pisa in October 2020. At the time, the Williamson County Sheriff's Office was also under scrutiny for allegations of excess force under then-sheriff Robert Chody.
As part of the plea deal, Pisa must serve six days in jail – three immediately and the remaining three on the anniversary of the incident next April. Pisa must also complete 200 hours of community service, write a letter of apology and immediately surrender his Texas peace officer's license.
Pisa was working in a civilian position at the sheriff's office before resigning on Monday.
Last fall, Nembhard settled a civil lawsuit for $120,000 with the Williamson County commissioners.