A Pennsylvania state trooper was caught on camera appearing to physically assault his ex-girlfriend after he allegedly abused his power to have her involuntarily committed to a hospital.
Ronald Davis, 37, is accused of having improperly obtained a warrant to have the woman committed without divulging his connection to her, according to the criminal complaint and a probable cause affidavit provided by the Dauphin County District Attorney’s Office.
While he was carrying out the order himself, he asked another person to record him as he appeared to strangle her and restrain her. During the 12½-minute video, released by the DA’s office, she repeatedly says, “I can’t breathe.”
Davis, who has been a trooper since 2015, has been suspended without pay, in accordance with state law, and he has been charged with felony strangulation, unlawful restraint, false imprisonment, simple assault and official oppression.
The woman wound up being held at Lehigh Valley Hospital for four days, until her release Aug. 25. “The video and text communications with Davis show that [the victim] was rational and the involuntary commitment was improper,” the DA’s office said in the news release.
A judge ordered Davis held without bail in Dauphin County Prison at his preliminary arraignment last week, the DA’s office said. A preliminary hearing has been set for Monday.
It was not immediately clear how much jail time Davis could face if he is convicted or whether he has a lawyer who could speak on his behalf. A spokesperson for the DA’s office could not immediately be reached for comment.
Davis is married and lives with his family in Dauphin County, the DA’s office said. He did not respond to emails seeking comment.
‘I’ll take care of it myself’
Davis allegedly told colleagues on Aug. 21 that the woman was living in a camper on his property, that “their relationship had deteriorated” and that she “had recently been acting erratically,” according to the probable cause affidavit. The two had a four-month relationship, the woman later told police.
Davis said they had been having an “ongoing domestic argument” over the previous two days involving clothing she had stored in his garage, according to the probable cause affidavit. He added that the woman was suicidal and claimed that she had texted him minutes earlier saying she was going to drive off a cliff.
Davis then asked his colleagues whether they could have her involuntarily committed, according to the probable cause affidavit. A corporal at the station said it would be better if he contacted Dauphin County Crisis Intervention, a 24/7 program, to file a petition to have her involuntarily committed “to minimize conflict and liability.”
Davis initially said he did not want to do that, although it is unclear from the affidavit why. Ultimately, he did contact the program by phone to file the petition on Aug. 21; he identified himself as a trooper even though “he was contacting them regarding a personal matter,” the probable cause affidavit says. He also emailed a synopsis of information related to the petition using his state email address and including his personal contact information, the document says.
While Davis was making the petition, state police unsuccessfully tried to conduct a welfare check on the woman, searching for her in three locations.
The warrant for the woman’s involuntary commitment was ultimately approved and issued; Davis took a copy of it from another trooper and said, “I’ll take care of it myself” — even after a supervisor said on-duty officers would handle the situation, the probable cause affidavit notes.
Davis left the station shortly after 1:15 p.m. and notified colleagues he had found the woman in a picnic area about 15 minutes later.
When Davis arrived, the woman tried to avoid him, and he grabbed her and “forcefully carried her from the picnic area to her vehicle,” the probable cause affidavit says. Davis directed another person — who is not employed by the state police and whose connection to Davis was not immediately clear — to record the encounter, the probable cause affidavit says.
In the video, Davis appears to sit on the woman to restrain her while she pleads to be let go and asks why she is being restrained. When the woman tries to escape his control, he tackles her to the ground. At that point, about 3½ minutes into the video, he appears to restrain her by the neck.
“I don’t need help,” the woman says at the start of the video, while Davis is sitting on her and restraining her. “I need to get away from you.”
Davis never claimed he was acting in his official capacity as a trooper, the document says. Davis later told police that the woman knew he was a trooper.
A state police spokesperson said it was too early to determine whether a police supervisor or anyone else would face disciplinary action given that Davis proceeded to look for the woman himself.
Signs of a controlling relationship
After she was released from the hospital, the woman met with police and described ways she alleged Davis had sought to control her, including telling her “I know you’re not crazy, I’ll paint you as crazy” and “I know the law,” the probable cause affidavit says.
She also said he had restricted access to her belongings and once called the state police station where he worked during an argument and hung up before the call answered “in an effort to control” the situation, the document says.
Text messages viewed by police showed Davis and the woman arguing in the days before the alleged incident, with Davis making “disparaging remarks” toward her, the probable cause affidavit says. Police concluded there were no verifiable suicidal or homicidal threats.
The texts “revealed her frustration with Trooper Davis and his controlling behavior (and her desire to break off the relationship), not a true desire to harm herself,” according to the probable cause affidavit.
The woman “described a relationship where Davis needed to maintain power and control,” it says.
If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence or the threat of domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline for help at 1-800-799-SAFE (7233), or go to www.thehotline.org for anonymous, confidential online chats, available in English and Spanish. Individual states often have their own domestic violence hotlines as well.
Advocates at the National Domestic Violence Hotline field calls from both survivors of domestic violence as well as individuals who are concerned that they may be abusive toward their partners.
If you or someone you know is in crisis, call 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. You can also call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255, text HOME to 741741 or visit SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for additional resources.