Married Pennsylvania Cop Faces False Imprisonment Charges for Locking Up His Mistress, Saying He'd 'Paint Her as Crazy' After Split
Sept. 25 2023, Published 2:00 p.m. ET
A married Pennsylvania cop is facing false imprisonment charges and more after being accused of strangling his mistress before having her committed to a mental health facility, RadarOnline.com has learned.
Officer Ronald Keith Davis landed himself in hot water after abusing his authority to forcibly arrest girlfriend Michelle Perfanov in August following a lovers' tiff.
She was living in his trailer during their four-month affair, which was fizzling out. "You're done. F--- around and find out. Get out of my house now," Davis declared in texts, DailyMail.com reported.
Perfanov was committed to a mental hospital in Williamstown, Pennsylvania, after the woman allegedly told him she was suicidal and was going to drive "off a cliff," leading him to obtain an involuntary commitment petition. Perfanov later explained she only made that claim to get his attention and was not actually looking to end her life.
Davis was filmed by a "civilian companion" while arresting her off-duty at the Pennsylvania State Game Lands in Weiser State Forest on August 21. "I'll take care of it myself," he said before taking matters into his own hands.
"People like you shouldn't have any form of power!" she said in the video. "I didn't do anything wrong except disagree with you."
As he roughhoused her, she yelled, "Let me go. You can't just tackle me like that!"
"I didn't do anything wrong," Perfanov cried out repeatedly, noting she didn't understand why he was aggressively detaining her. "You can't take me against my will."
Perfanov was taken to Lehigh Valley Hospital-Schuykill and was held for multiple days prior to her release, where it was determined she was not mentally ill.
The woman later told cops a vastly different story than Davis, claiming she wanted to move to a new city to start over, which set him off. "I know you're not crazy, I'll paint you as crazy," Davis allegedly said, according to the victim. "I know the law."
"Taken in context, 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 an affidavit, which stated that he "knowingly or intentionally impeding the breathing or circulation of the blood of another person by applying pressure to the throat or neck."
Davis, who was suspended from his job, can be seen with a blank expression in a Dauphin County mugshot after being charged with felony strangulation, unlawful restraint, false imprisonment, simple assault, recklessly endangering another person and official oppression.
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He was remanded without bail following a September 21 arraignment.