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submitted 5 days ago by fpslem@lemmy.world to c/news@lemmy.world

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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[-] Itdidnttrickledown@lemmy.world 278 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago)

Raided based on nothing more than power usage. Ignored warning in place around the MRI to prevent an accident. Cops gun gets pulled out of his hands and he pull the emergency shutdown button. Now it will cost a couple of hundred thousand to get the MRI going again. Somehow the cops will blame someone else.

Losing 2,000 litres of helium is possibly the worst part of this.

[-] Itdidnttrickledown@lemmy.world 42 points 5 days ago

A large part of the price as well. Not to mention magnets that were destroyed.

[-] MataVatnik@lemmy.world 20 points 5 days ago

Don't know about MRI machines but reenergizing NMRs that were quenched is fucking expensive

[-] ArtemisimetrA@lemmy.duck.cafe 11 points 4 days ago

I'm not completely sure but I think quenching MRI magnets is pretty permanent

[-] assassinatedbyCIA@lemmy.world 88 points 5 days ago

And if they do pay damages it comes out of your tax dollars. Great system all round.

[-] saltesc@lemmy.world 99 points 5 days ago

Also, they left behind a loaded magazine on the floor 🤣

[-] Passerby6497@lemmy.world 35 points 5 days ago

Even Barney Fife is amazed at how terrible of a cop that dude is.

[-] Trainguyrom@reddthat.com 33 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago)

I love how cops take less training to arrest people than I took to professionally reset passwords

[-] microphone900@lemmy.ml 12 points 4 days ago

Another article said it was the office's high power consumption and the SMELL of marijuana... in a state where marijuana is legal. And the 'AC was too loud.' And two people dressed similarly because I guess scrubs, uniforms, or a dress code are suspicious as hell. And security cameras. Like, holy goddamn shit guys. The officers, especially the team's leader who requested the warrant and the judge who signed it, should be reprimanded for sheer incompetence.

If this is all it takes for a raid, my favorite cheap Chinese food spot should be raided, too. Hell, they get a ton of customers coming and going so they're probably dealing, too!

According to the lawsuit, the raid of Noho Diagnostic Center stemmed from an LAPD officer’s application for a search warrant.

The officer said there had been a noise complaint about the medical center’s air conditioning units, and cannabis was possibly being cultivated inside, the complaint says.

He repeatedly surveilled the property in 2023 and reported the “distinct odor of live cannabis plant and not the odor of dried cannabis being smoked” — as well as tinted windows, security cameras and two people dressed similarly, according to the complaint.

The officer believed these were signs of a hidden marijuana growing operation, and efforts to expand it, the complaint says.

He also found that the medical center wasn’t licensed to grow cannabis and, because of this discovery, determined the facility was violating California’s health and safety code, according to the complaint.

The officer considered his observations as “probable cause for cannabis cultivation,” and a search warrant was issued, the complaint says.

[-] postmateDumbass@lemmy.world 14 points 5 days ago

AI RoboCop wants all the power for itself.

[-] evenglow@lemmy.world 3 points 4 days ago

Cops are not the only problem here.

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

this post was submitted on 29 Sep 2024
980 points (99.4% liked)

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