A Pennsylvania State Police trooper is facing strangulation and false imprisonment charges after he allegedly held his ex-girlfriend in a “wrestling-style prison” and committed her to a mental health facility under false pretenses.
Ronald Keith Davis, 37, was arrested Sept. 21. He is accused of abusing his authority to have his girlfriend of four months detained in a medical facility against her will.
The officer, who is married with children, requested an involuntary psychiatric commitment for the woman after claiming she was suicidal, according to a probable cause affidavit.
On Monday, August 21, Davis asked his comrades for help and said that the woman – referred to by the district attorney’s MF, but whose full name was not mentioned in the affidavit – was living in a mobile home on his property.
The police officer said they didn’t get along and “their relationship deteriorated.”
In a probable cause affidavit, the Pennsylvania State Trooper allegedly abused his power as a police officer to convict the woman of false suicide claims
The video released by the prosecutor shows the moment he grabbed the woman to arrest her
The woman repeatedly tells him she can’t breathe as Davis puts her in a “wrestling style.”
He claimed he did not allow the woman to collect her belongings from the property because she was acting erratically.
To prove his point, he displayed several text messages, including ones that read, “I think I’m going to drive off a cliff” and “My mental health doesn’t matter, I’m a useless old stupid uneducated piece of shit.” ‘
Ronald Keith Davis, 37, is accused of strangling his girlfriend before having her committed to a mental institution under false pretenses
According to state police, Davis contacted county officials using his email account and identified himself as a police officer to obtain an involuntary commitment order. He was off duty at this point.
While he was applying for the order, police were dispatched to conduct a welfare check on the victim. They checked three different locations but couldn’t find her.
According to the affidavit, Davis took the form, said, “I’ll take care of it myself,” and left the police station.
With the help of a “civilian companion,” he then tracked the woman to the Pennsylvania State Game Lands in Weiser State Forest and attempted to carry her to his car before she began resisting.
Video released by prosecutors shows the victim, covered in dirt and almost half the officer’s height, almost breaking free from his grasp.
As she tries to get up, Davis pulls her legs out from under her and forces her to the ground. She punches him to fight it off, but Davis catches her with a “wrestling-style” hold.
She repeatedly tells the man she can’t breathe, according to the affidavit.
When police arrived, the victim’s injuries were documented and she was taken to Lehigh Valley Hospital-Schuykill for evaluation.
He applied for an involuntary commitment order and showed police text messages that read: “My mental health doesn’t matter, I’m a useless old, stupid, uneducated piece of shit.”
After receiving the order, he pursued the woman to a wooded area and attempted to carry her to his car. Police attempted to check on welfare but were unable to reach the woman before he did
The woman was jailed for five days but told police a harrowing story after her release, recounting ongoing abuse in their four-month relationship
She revealed text messages in which she described being locked out of her trailer and not having access to “hygiene, food and home comforts.”
Police next interviewed Davis.
He reiterated that the woman had made comments via text message: “She has no reason to live, she is a worthless piece of shit and she is going to end it,” the affidavit said. He added that she wouldn’t answer his calls.
However, he did not address the “control methods” of his ex-girlfriend, who suffered injuries to her forehead, torso, back, buttocks, forearms, knees and lower body.
The affidavit said she “really didn’t seem to understand why she was being held.”
MF was initially held for 72 hours after his arrival at the hospital. An official contacted the hospital to verify that the involuntary mental health commitment was being complied with by the facility and learned that it was.
The woman was detained for another two days. In the less than week she was held, she showed no suicidal thoughts.
On August 26, the woman was released and interviewed by police, only to tell a very different side of the story.
In her interview, MF stated that the incident arose from a domestic dispute on August 19, the affidavit states. She described a four-month entanglement marked by “different ideological opinions and differences in roles within relationships.”
She alleged that Davis repeatedly threatened her over the course of their relationship, saying, “I know you’re not crazy, I’ll make you out to be crazy” and “I know the law.”
She also cited recent examples of power imbalance, including turning off power to the RV where she lived and preventing access to her personal belongings.
As the relationship began to break down, MF made statements about starting over in a city and “felt a confrontation building” as Davis “needed to maintain power and control,” the documents say.
On August 28, they allowed officers to photograph their text conversations with Davis. As the couple argued, Davis “continued to make derogatory comments,” including comments about drug testing and that the woman was unemployable.
In the messages, MF also described being locked out of her trailer and not having access to “hygiene, food and home comforts,” the affidavit said.
After reading the messages, police alleged that Davis “failed to provide the full context of these messages” when he attempted to arrest the woman.
“In fact, the text messages were the culmination of a larger, domestic dispute between him and the victim,” the affidavit states.
“Taken in context, the texts revealed her frustration with Trooper Davis and his controlling behavior (and her desire to break off the relationship), but not a true desire to harm herself.”
The criminal complaint accuses Davis of “knowingly or intentionally obstructing the breathing or blood circulation of another person by applying pressure to the throat or neck.”
It says he restrained her “under circumstances that placed said other person at risk of serious bodily injury” in violation of Pennsylvania Crimes Code Section 2902(a)(1), which relates to “unlawful restraint.” ‘
Davis was charged with aggravated strangulation, unlawful imprisonment, false imprisonment, simple assault, recklessly endangering another person and official oppression.
He was remanded without bail following an arraignment on September 21.