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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  • floofloofEnglish
    3771·
    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
        113·
        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
      16·
      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
      2160·
      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
        1159·
        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
          292·
          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
        46·
        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
          12·
          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
        203·
        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

    • catloaf@lemm.eeEnglish
      1594·
      3 months 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
        494·
        3 months ago

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

          • Arcka@midwest.socialEnglish
            14·
            3 months ago

            Sure they do. The gun clubs I’ve joined foster an environment that attracts people who demonstrate care and consideration in all aspects concerning firearms. If someone is lazy and imprecise in the manner in which they communicate about guns, that might also apply to their general demeaner. After speaking with some of these fellows during public range days, it’s not surprising when later they’re shooting holes in the shelter roof or bouncing ricochets off the top of the berm.

            • hate2bme@lemmy.world
              22·
              3 months ago

              You misunderstood what I was talking about. I am saying if a non gun person says bullets they know exactly what they are talking about about and don’t feel a need to correct them. No need to be an asshole and say “Well ackshully”. Nobody likes that guy.

              • Arcka@midwest.socialEnglish
                1·
                3 months ago

                No misunderstanding - I get what you’re saying and I disagree.

                I also don’t agree that expecting journalists to be accurate makes someone an asshole. If they were reporting on an automobile and wrote that the spark plugs make 500HP we could guess what they likely meant, but we’d also recognize the journalist’s ignorance. They should educate themselves on their subject matter so they can do their job properly.

      • Dave2@lemmy.blahaj.zone
        243·
        3 months 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?