DAUPHIN COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA: Ronald Davis, a married Pennsylvania State Police trooper, is facing criminal charges after violently detaining his ex-girlfriend and committing her to a mental health treatment program.
The 37-year-old Davis was arrested on Thursday, September 21 after he was accused of violating his position to carry out a takedown that resulted in his ex-girlfriend being wrongfully kept in a hospital for several days.
The victim, who has been identified only as MF, claimed that Davis reportedly told her “I know you’re not crazy, I’ll paint you as crazy” leading up to the forced medical treatment, according to the NY Post.
Working as a trooper since 2015, Davis is a member of Troop L in Jonestown. Authorities revealed that Davis was married and had a family in Dauphin County when he started a four-month-long intimate relationship with the victim.
When Ronald Davis tried to detain his ex-girlfriend
According to court documents released by the Dauphin County District Attorney’s Office, Davis’ attempt to have the victim committed began on August 21 when he asked for assistance from other troopers, claiming she had mental health problems.
After submitting alleged messages from the victim where she threatened suicide, Davis, who was off-duty at the time, successfully obtained an order by contacting county authorities using his police email account and posing as a trooper.
Once he got the order approved, the trooper attempted to detain the victim before uniformed troopers reached her.
Davis and a civilian companion found the victim in a picnic area at a state forest, where he scooped her up and took her to his car before the two wrestled on the ground.
In footage, released by DA’s office, Davis is seen sitting on top of his ex-lover, who claims that he tackled her to the ground. She also claimed that she was okay on her own and only wished to get away from the cop.
“You’re insane,” she said, adding “You’re absolutely insane … and then you paint me to look insane.” As she attempted to escape, Davis allegedly manhandled her and pinned her to the ground in a "wrestling-style hold," according to authorities.
Why does Ronald Davis want to commit his ex-girlfriend to mental facility?
In the footage, MF is seen screaming “I can’t breathe” as Davis keeps her under his stronghold. When they stood up, Davis held her back while she insisted repeatedly that she had done nothing wrong.
“Why are you treating me like a criminal?” she said before uniformed officers arrived and took her to Lehigh Valley Hospital-Schuylkill.
The court documents stated that after her arrival, MF appeared to “genuinely lack understanding on why she is being restrained.” During the struggle, she allegedly suffered injuries to her forehead, torso, back, buttocks, forearms, knee, and lower body.
The victim was involuntarily committed for five days before being released on August 26. Once cops saw an exchange of messages between the pair, they didn’t think there was cause to force her into treatment, police said.
Officials also claimed that the text that Davis used against the victim appeared to be part of a larger argument over their deteriorating relationship.
“While Trooper Davis provided text messages from [the victim] … and purported them to be suicidal, he failed to provide the full context of those messages,” the affidavit alleged.
“In fact, the text messages were the culmination of a larger, domestic dispute between him and the victim. Taken in context, the texts revealed her frustration with Trooper Davis and his controlling behavior … not a true desire to harm herself,” it continued.
Davis has now been slapped with charges of felony strangulation, unlawful restraint, false imprisonment, simple assault, recklessly endangering another person, and official oppression.
