What did Ronald Davis do? Pennsylvania State police trooper hit with multiple charges in wake of strangulation video footage

Following a disturbing incident, a married Pennsylvania State police trooper, Ronald Davis, was slammed with multiple charges after a video showed him violently restraining an ex-girlfriend in August 2023.

Ronald Davis, 37, who is married with a family in Dauphin County, is accused of abusing his authority as a law enforcement official to carry out a twisted grudge against an ex-girlfriend following a fight in August 2023.

Shortly after, Davis went on a revenge spree where he pictured her as a crazy woman. Davis then had her committed for multiple days at a mental health facility after tracking her down and violently restraining her in front of a companion, who was ordered to capture the footage he hoped would solidify his claims.

However, the footage appeared to have backfired after it showed Davis violently choking the victim on the ground. According to PSP, the DA, and court documents, Davis faces a felony charge of strangulation and misdemeanor charges of unlawful restraint, false imprisonment, simple assault, official oppression, and recklessly endangering another person.

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Charges against Pennsylvania State Trooper Ronald Davis explored

According to court documents, in early August, Ronald Davis, who was having an affair with a woman living in a trailer on his property for four months, locked her out of her home following a fight. Shortly after the victim allegedly sent a series of texts where she claimed to take her own life. A text read:

"Go out [in] style. I don't even have clothes because you [held] them hostage. Oh well, I'll just do it in style naked and have a nice life."

On August 21, 2023, Davis reportedly weaponised the messages when he sought help from a colleague alleging the woman — identified by the district attorney as M.F. — had mental health problems. However, authorities revealed that the “suicidal” messages were taken out of context as Davis weaponized a few texts from a larger argument over the course of their deteriorating relationship. The documents stated:

“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.”

While Ronald Davis was asked to contact a crisis intervention center, he took matters into his own hands and obtained an Involuntary Mental Health Commitment form by using the purported “suicidal’ texts. Shortly after, a colleague informed Davis that the victim was found in the Weiser State Forest and they would send someone to get her. However, Davis went after the woman with a civilian companion before uniformed troopers could reach her and asked the companion to film the incident.

The disturbing footage of the encounter showed the woman struggling and repeatedly saying she couldn't breathe, while Ronald Davis had her pinned on the ground.

“You’re insane,” she said. “You’re absolutely insane … and then you paint me to look insane.”

Following a violent struggle, Davis restrained the victim before uniformed officers arrived and took her to Lehigh Valley Hospital-Schuylkill. The victim, who suffered injuries to her forehead, torso, back, buttocks, forearms, knee and lower body, was involuntarily committed for five days. The hospital said that during this time, she did not display any suicidal thoughts.

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The victim, who was released on August 26, 2023, was then interviewed by police. During the investigation, authorities discovered the trooper’s culpability after they saw an exchange of messages between the former couple. Ronald Davis was arrested and remanded without bail following an arraignment on Thursday, September 21.

According to social media profiles cited by Daily Voice, the victim, who is a former model, works in marketing and communications in New York City.