Lang
3/12/26
The family of a Johnson County Jail inmate who died while in custody is now suing Johnson County, staff at the jail, University of Iowa Health Care, and a UIHC medical provider.
36-year-old Nathaniel Davis Jr. fell over in his jail cell just before 6:15 on the night of March 14th, 2024. A deputy saw the incident on camera and determined Davis was having a medical emergency. Jail staff began CPR, applied an automatic external defibrillator, and called for an ambulance. Davis was transported to the UIHC, where he died five days later.
Davis was serving a seven-day sentence after leading Iowa City Police on a brief chase on Benton Street that ended in the Staples parking lot on South Riverside Drive. He was found in possession of a loaded pistol with a ground-off serial number despite being a convicted felon.
Davis’s family claims jail staff and medical providers failed to respond appropriately when he started showing signs of alcohol withdrawal four days before his collapse. They also allege that the medical provider who responded to Davis’s complaints never examined him, prescribed the wrong medication, and declined to send him to a hospital.