Pennsylvania State Police trooper Ronald Davis was arrested last week for allegedly having his ex-girlfriend illegally committed to a psych ward.
Per a press release from the Dauphin County District Attorney's Office, the 37-year-old officer is facing charges of felony strangulation, unlawful imprisonment, simple assault, recklessly endangering another person, and official oppression after he had her placed in a mental health treatment program under false claims. Davis, who is married with children, reportedly had an "intimate relationship with the victim." The woman was involuntarily committed for five days as a result of his actions.
In court documents released by the district attorney's office, per the New York Post, Davis requested help from other state troopers on Aug. 21 under the pretense he knew someone who needed to be committed for mental health issues. He obtained an affidavit of probable cause after he shared alleged texts to county officials that showed she threatened suicide. When the order was approved, he sought to arrest the woman, only identified by authorities as 'M.F.'
In a disturbing video of the off-duty arrest of his ex, whom he dated for at least four months, he tackled her to the ground as she resisted his attempts to apprehend her under allegedly false cause. "You're insane, you're absolutely insane," she said in the video at one point. He later held her to the ground as she repeatedly told him she couldn't breathe. “Why are you treating me like a criminal?” she said after she was restrained and uniformed officers arrived.
According to an affidavit, she suffered several injuries as she was apprehended. During her five days in a psych ward, medical personnel said she displayed no signs of suicidal thoughts. She was released on Aug. 26 and spoke with police, who saw text messages between her and Davis that they believed showed no indication she needed to be committed.
“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,” reads the affidavit. “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.”
The victim told authorities that Davis threatened to "paint" her as "crazy" ahead of the arrest.
