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
    3581·
    3 months 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
        108·
        3 months ago

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

    • SSTF@lemmy.world
      14·
      3 months ago

      California still has a 10 round magazine capacity limit for ordinary private ownership, I believe. (Last I heard the ruling striking it down was stayed).

      So, did this cop negligently just leave a super illegal thing (by California legal standards) on the floor for some medical technician to eventually pick up and get legally slapped for?

    • stupidcasey@lemmy.world
      2059·
      3 months 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.

      • FlowVoid@lemmy.worldEnglish
        1139·
        3 months 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
          272·
          3 months 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?!?

          • vaultdweller013@sh.itjust.works
            4·
            3 months ago

            Like my redneck ass town wouldnt consider that enough due to the amount of folks qith home machine shops and specialist equipment. But somehow LA isn’t supposed to have that.

        • I_Has_A_Hat@lemmy.world
          3·
          3 months ago

          I mean… I kind of get it. The personal item happened to be a fucking gun. One with moving parts that will fire bullets if the wrong part moves. Your phone will not fire bullets. Seems kind of prudent to stop the machine with spinning magnets and wildly fluctuating magnetic fields from operating near a rifle that may cause it to fire.

          I guaran-fucking-tee you that if they hadn’t shut it off, and the machine caused the firing pin to trip resulting in a bullet being fired and hitting someone, people would be saying “what stupid cops let the gun just sit there when they could have hit the emergency stop switch!”

          However, the main issue is the rifle never should have fucking been there in the first place!

          • redisdead@lemmy.world
            1·
            3 months ago

            Cop gets the gun by destroying the machine: cop is dumb

            Cop doesn’t get the gun and someone gets shot at: cop is dumb

            Moral of the story: cop is dumb

      • Lepsea@sh.itjust.works
        45·
        3 months 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

        • ikidd@lemmy.worldEnglish
          10·
          3 months ago

          The people there were probably handcuffed on the floor and not in a mood to help.

          • Passerby6497@lemmy.worldEnglish
            20·
            3 months ago

            Also, the benefit of common fucking sense to ask the professionals before just hitting an emergency button when there’s no immediate danger.

      • ShepherdPie@midwest.social
        32·
        3 months 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.

      • bluewing@lemm.ee
        183·
        3 months ago

        But it’s also not unusual that E-Stops can cause severe damage to a machine when used. After all, such switches are meant to instantaneously bring everything to a screeching halt for safety reasons without worrying about the machine.

        And in this case, the E-Stop is meant to prevent the MRI from exploding and sending pieces of shrapnel flying everywhere. MRI machines can be quite dangerous in operation.

      • hate2bme@lemmy.world
        23·
        3 months ago

        Not sure why you are downvoted. I think a rifle getting pulled into an MRI machine is as good a reason as any to hit the big red button.

      • Remoed@lemmings.world
        24·
        3 months ago

        I agree, imagine if you were just sitting around figuring out what to do and the gun went off in the MRI possibly killing someone. The mistake was entry in the first place, not this