The Oregon State Hospital has opened a formal investigation into how a patient escaped from the building Tuesday morning, a spokeswoman said Wednesday.
The patient escaped by scaling a wall and a fence, said Rebeka Gipson-King, Oregon State Hospital relations director. He was apprehended a half mile from the Oregon State Hospital, located at 2600 Center St. N.E.
She said the hospital is looking at video footage and reports from the event to “figure how he did what he did and make sure it doesn’t happen again.”
Gipson-King said the patient put together furniture in order to scale a wall in the inner courtyard and scaled a fence that led to the hospital’s ball fields around 10:20 a.m.
She said staff were following the patient the entire time and called the security department, Salem Police Department and Oregon State Police to assist.
Security staff caught up to the patient at the corner of 19th and Center Street and went “hands-on” with him, Gipson-King said.
One staff member was injured during the struggle, getting a cut on their face. Gipson-King said the staff member was treated at Salem Hospital and wasn’t seriously injured.
Salem police took the patient back to the Oregon State Hospital, she said.
The patient had previously been charged with third-degree robbery and fourth-degree assault, but was found unable to participate in their trial because of their mental illness, she said. The patient’s name was not disclosed because of privacy reasons.
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