POTTER COUNTY, Texas (KAMR/KCIT) – The family of a 26-year-old Potter County man who died from appendicitis at the Potter County Jail in 2022 filed a lawsuit against Potter County in Amarillo Federal Court on Thursday, alleging that the county violated his constitutional rights in ways that led to his death.
According to court documents filed on Thursday, Larry Douglas, Jr. died on March 9, 2022 while in custody at the Potter County Jail, waiting for trial after he was arrested in February after a traffic stop. Court documents said Douglas, other inmates, and jail personnel reported that Douglas had been experiencing symptoms including severe stomach pain, vomiting, sweating, and chills for around four days, but emergency medical services were not called and Douglas was not hospitalized.
According to court documents, Douglas was transferred to a one-person cell in Potter County Jail on March 9 for “observation” until a nurse practitioner could arrive the next day, and was visible on security footage until he collapsed and died after 10 p.m. Douglas was pronounced dead at around 10:45 p.m., and both the Texas Rangers and the Texas Commission on Jail Standards investigated the incident.