PORTLAND, Ore. (KATU) — Marion County law enforcement agencies are raising concerns over the recent release of a patient from the Oregon State Hospital, claiming the man still poses serious risks to the community.
On Tuesday, 41-year-old Grant Brannaman was transferred from the Oregon State Hospital to Jory Behavioral Health, a secure residential treatment facility in Salem after his supervision period under the Psychiatric Security Review Board expired on Sunday.
Brannaman, who is from Portland, was arrested in Grants Pass in 2021, accused of lighting cars on fire and slashing tires.
He also has a criminal record dating back to 2013 that includes second-degree rape of a child under the age of 16, private indecency, and third-degree sexual abuse.
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Brannaman was admitted to OSH in 2021, after he pleaded guilty except for insanity on Josephine County convictions of second-degree arson, first-degree criminal mischief, three counts of second-degree criminal mischief, and felon in possession of a restricted weapon.
Marion County District Attorney Paige Clarkson, Marion County Sheriff Nick Hunter, and Salem Police Chief Trevor Womack are now speaking out after Brannaman was transferred within Marion County, despite him having no local ties to the area and the crimes he committed in other parts of the state.
They also said that Brannaman has expressed the desire to reoffend, and that PSRB recently determined it was not in the public’s best interest for him to be released.
According to a PSRB hearing last month, Brannaman has remained “at the most restrictive level of care available to individuals under the Psychiatric Security Review Board” and “at no point during his five-year jurisdiction has his treatment team recommended him for conditional release into the community, based on his assessed risk level and inability to be safely managed outside of a highly structured and supervised institutional setting.”
The Board added Brannaman is suffers from schizoaffective disorder, bipolar type, and his most recent evaluation indicates his psychiatric symptoms are worsening, with “warning signs of psychiatric destabilization, including escalation of manic symptoms, increased sexual preoccupation, paranoia regarding sexual exploitation, and overt hostility toward women, all of which heightened supervision and risk mitigation when present.”
Despite his symptoms and recent evaluations, PSRB had no legal authority to extend their supervision of Brannaman past Feb. 8 and ordered the hospital to notify the community and law enforcement agencies prior to his release.
“The release of Brannaman highlights an alarming gap in our state mental health system’s ability to prevent high-risk individuals from returning to our neighborhoods. Our responsibility now is to ensure residents are fully informed. We will be proactive in pushing this information out to community leaders, service partners, and the public to safeguard our city,” Womack said.
The Marion County District Attorney’s Office said prior to Brannaman’s release, it repeatedly requested that OSH keep him under supervision and not release him into Marion County.
“The broken nature of Oregon’s mental health system has never been more evident than when an obviously dangerous person is released into a community in which he has no connection, all while public safety professionals agree he needs the security and treatment that only the state hospital can provide,” Clarkson said. “Given that our concerns have been unheeded at the state level, we must now warn our community.”
Clarkson added, “State statute needs to be revised to align with Department of Corrections requirement to release offenders back to the adjudicating county. And the Oregon State Hospital must responsibly meet its public safety obligations to our communities by securely holding those who need their services.”
In a statement to KATU about concerns, a spokesperson for the Oregon Health Authority Behavioral Health Division and Oregon State Hospital said, “As a medical provider and a HIPPA-covered entity, OSH is prohibited by federal and state law from sharing any information about an individual allegedly under our care.”