State trooper faces charges of assaulting ex-girlfriend and improperly having her committed
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.
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-new...ng-ex-girlfriend-improperly-commit-rcna117158
