Former cop attacked woman and held gun to her head, police say - East Idaho News
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Former cop attacked woman and held gun to her head, police say

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EDITORS NOTE: This story contains graphic details of domestic violence

POCATELLO — A former Pocatello Police officer is facing felony charges after his former colleagues say he hurt a woman and held a gun to her head.

The Pocatello Police Department arrested Ryan Randolph Davis, 29, on Wednesday afternoon for felony aggravated assault and felony attempted strangulation. According to an affidavit of probable cause obtained by EastIdahoNews.com, a woman told police that Davis, a former police officer, attacked her and held a gun to her head at his home on Poplar Street.

“Grabbing and twisting of (the) wrist, pulling hair and physically throwing the victim around the home were reported,” according to court documents.

In their report, police wrote Davis and the woman went to a local bar to celebrate New Year’s Eve. Davis became upset when the woman danced with her friends, and he began to “berate and belittle her.” This prompted the woman to walk back to a residence alone while Davis stayed behind.

Davis later went to the residence and they got into an argument in a bedroom. Court documents show she tried leaving to avoid a fight with him. That’s when Davis squeezed the woman’s throat for around 20 seconds, police said. The woman said the choking made it hard to breathe, and she thought she would blackout.

The abuse continued in various parts of the house, court documents show. Davis is said to have pulled her hair and slammed her against a floor and a wall. At one point, Davis allegedly grabbed a handgun from the closet and placed it to her forehead and threatened her.

The woman pleaded for Davis to not shoot her, and he turned the gun toward himself, according to court documents. The woman said he tried twice to force the woman’s fingers onto the trigger “to fire the gun and kill him.”

Eventually, the woman convinced Davis to place the gun down, and she walked out of the house to get help. As she left, Davis told her he was sorry and didn’t mean it, she said.

The woman was in severe pain. She reached a house on another street, and a person there drove her to Portneuf Medical Center. The woman sustained a broken wrist and bruising to her knees and neck. Nurses at the hospital called police to report the alleged attack and officers arrested Davis on Wednesday.

Pocatello Police spokesman Capt. Eric Anderson said Davis worked as a police officer with the Pocatello Police Department for about three years, but quit in Fall 2019.

It was requested Davis’ bond be set at $100,000, but Magistrate Judge Richard Todd Garbett set bail at $10,000. Davis posted bond over the weekend and placed on pre-trial supervision.

A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Jan. 13.

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