BUFFALO, N.Y. — A woman accused of driving through a police barricade last June during protests is facing assault charges.
Dayanna J. Davis, 31, of Buffalo was arraigned in Erie County Court on two counts of assault in the first degree.
According to the Erie County District Attorney's office, Davis was allegedly driving a vehicle on June 1 around 10 p.m. that went through a police barricade at a protest on Bailey Avenue.
New York State Trooper Ron Ensminger was run over by the Davis' vehicle and suffered a broken pelvis and ribs. Trooper Ensminger spent several days at ECMC following the accident. He is still recovering from his injuries and has been unable to return to work.
Investigators say Davis is accused of "intentionally and recklessly engaging in behavior that caused serious physical injuries to another person by using her vehicle as a dangerous instrument to commit the alleged crime."
They also say Davis allegedly, "under circumstances evincing a depraved indifference to human life, recklessly engaged in conduct, which created a grave risk of death to another person, and thereby caused serious physical injury to another person."
Davis' next court date is scheduled for March 30 at 10 a.m. She is currently released on bail.
If convicted of the assault charges, Davis could face up to 25 years in prison.
Police also found a stolen handgun in the vehicle that night. A passenger in Davis' vehicle that night, Semaj T. Pigram, 25, of Buffalo was indicted on one count of criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree. He is scheduled to return to court on March 22. He is currently being held on $100,000 bail.
A third person in the vehicle had their charges dismissed.