Johnson County Jail inmate dies after ‘medical emergency’

IOWA CITY — The death of a Johnson County Jail inmate is being investigated by the state.

Nathaniel Davis Jr., 36, was booked into the jail on March 10, to serve a seven-day sentence, according to a news release from the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office. At 6:10 p.m. on March 14, a deputy watching a camera monitor saw Davis fall over.

Jail staff responded and “determined that Davis was having a medical emergency,” the news release states. They began CPR, applied an automatic external defibrillator and called for an ambulance.

Davis was taken to the emergency department at University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, the release states. He died March 19.

The Johnson County Sheriff’s Office has asked the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation to investigate Davis’ death. An autopsy will be conducted by the Johnson County Medical Examiner’s Office. The release states that the State Jail Inspector also has been notified.

Davis was serving a serving a sentence for operating while under the influence, second offense. He was arrested in June 2023 after being involved in a single-vehicle crash in Iowa City. He was sentenced in January to seven days in Jail, to be served sometime before June 1, 2024.

The last time an inmate died in the Johnson County Jail was in May 2014, according to the Sheriff’s Office.