Bumbling US cops who raided a medical diagnostics center thinking it was a cannabis farm got a gun stuck to the powerful magnets of an MRI machine, a California lawsuit has alleged.After bursting into the diagnostics center in October last year, the SWAT team found only offices, a single employee and medical devices, including a Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) machine, a diagnostic tool that uses high-powered magnets to create detailed scans of a patient's body.

Bumbling US cops who raided a medical diagnostics center thinking it was a cannabis farm got a gun stuck to the powerful magnets of an MRI machine, a California lawsuit has alleged.

The owners of the facility are claiming damages against the Los Angeles Police Department for an operation their lawyers describe as “nothing short of a disorganized circus.”

Their lawsuit details how a SWAT team swarmed Noho Diagnostic Center after the squad’s leader persuaded a magistrate to issue a search warrant.

Officer Kenneth Franco drew on his “twelve hours of narcotics training” and discovered the facility was using more electricity than nearby stores, the lawsuit said.

“Officer Franco, therefore, concluded (the facility) was cultivating cannabis, disregarding the fact that it is a diagnostic facility utilizing an MRI machine, X-ray machine and other heavy medical equipment – unlike the surrounding businesses selling flowers, chocolates and children’s merchandise,” the suit said.

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  • floofloof@lemmy.caEnglish
    181·
    10 hours ago

    It gets worse:

    Instead of seeking expert advice on how to retrieve the weapon, one officer decided to activate the emergency shutdown button.

    “This action caused the MRI’s magnet to rapidly lose superconductivity, leading to the evaporation of approximately 2,000 liters of helium gas and resulting in extensive damage to the MRI machine,” the suit said.

    The officer then retrieved his gun, but left a magazine full of bullets on the floor of the MRI office, the suit says.

      • jonne@infosec.pub
        49·
        8 hours ago

        Exactly, the city is going to be on the hook for this, at worst he’ll get a talking to by the chief.

    • stupidcasey@lemmy.world
      12·
      9 hours ago

      TBF, If I saw a big red button labeled stop, I would have pressed it in that scenario, most emergency stops don’t destroy the entire system.

      • Lepsea@sh.itjust.works
        21·
        7 hours ago

        If it was me, i would ask the people there how to retrieve my stuff… I might get into trouble but hey in this scenario im a police who lose their gun to MRI machine so I’ll look stupid either way

      • FlowVoid@lemmy.worldEnglish
        56·
        8 hours ago

        You would have pressed it to retrieve a personal item? Seriously? Like if you’re visiting a factory and your phone fell on the assembly floor you would run to the first red button you could find and press it without asking anyone? If so, please never get on an airplane.

        • parody@lemmings.world
          4·
          1 hour ago

          I’m wondering the timeframe. Did the gun SWOOSH out of his hand and then he slammed the button right in front of him worried the gun was going to explode or something?

          What’s unforgivable is cops in LOS ANGELES even using one penny of taxpayer dollars to even think about cannabis. I guess they’re protecting state coffers - illegal buds = no tax revenue.

          I’d want them to respond to complaints about growers near schools or something… and try to be proactive I suppose if a residential neighborhood reeks…

          But reviewing all business power consumption and going on fishing expeditions WTF?! In LA?!?

      • ShepherdPie@midwest.social
        16·
        7 hours ago

        The ones I’m familiar with don’t say stop on them and they have a plastic guard over them to make you be really sure you want to hit it. It also causes damage to our tools (giant electron microscopes) because it has to make itself safe instantly, which means neutralized a lot of electricity, various gasses, and mechanical parts in an instant.

    • catloaf@lemm.eeEnglish
      7·
      8 hours ago

      a magazine full of bullets

      I know this is just the reporter’s ignorance, but I’m imagining a magazine full of bullets, no cases, powder, or ever primers.

      • Ensign_Crab@lemmy.worldEnglish
        8·
        2 hours ago

        I don’t know about anyone else, but comments like this make me want to use firearms terminology incorrectly on purpose.

      • Dave2
        11·
        6 hours ago

        Forgive my ignorance but isn’t a bullet made up by those things? Why would they need to mention the components of the bullet for it to make sense?