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Bungled cannabis raid at imaging center leads to police rifle in MR, quenched scanner

por Gus Iversen, Editor in Chief | October 02, 2024
MRI
An imaging center in Los Angeles is suing the LAPD, the city of Los Angeles and multiple police officers, after a cannabis raid resulted in a police officer's rifle getting sucked into the bore of an MR scanner, and officers subsequently initiating a quench on the scanner.

The debacle, outlined in a lawsuit reviewed by HCB News, unfolded on October 18, 2023, when a SWAT team exercised a warrant to search the NoHo Diagnostic Center on suspicion that the imaging facility was a front for illegal cannabis cultivation.

A fruitless search
Upon entry, the LAPD officers detained the sole employee on-site and conducted a search of all offices within the premises. When the search was completed and no signs of cannabis had been found, they released the employee and asked her to get the manager to come down immediately.
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Meanwhile, the lawsuit alleges, officers continued to roam freely throughout the facility, "casually engaging in conversation" with one another. This was when an officer, with a rifle "dangling with an unsecured strap" in his hand, entered the MR suite.

The officer's rifle was pulled out of his hand by the magnetic force of the MR and flew into the bore of the scanner. From court filings, it does not appear that the officer was injured.

Rather than seek assistance from the on-site employee, one of the officers went ahead and activated the MR's emergency shutdown button, quenching the scanner and evaporating approximately 2,000 liters of helium.

The officer then retrieved his gun and proceeded toward the entrance, allegedly leaving a magazine full of bullets on the floor of the MR suite.

An investigation doomed to begin with
The catalyst for the cannabis search was a noise complaint about the facility's air conditioning units, which suggested cannabis cultivation at the premises.

From there, the case for a search warrant was built around dubious clues. In addition to the “distinct odor of live cannabis plant and not the odor of dried cannabis being smoked,” LAPD surveillance reports highlighted the imaging center's tinted windows — which were attributed to cannabis concealment rather than patient privacy; security cameras — assumed to prevent cannabis theft; and two individuals in similar attire at the premises — whom the investigating officer concluded were performing maintenance or expanding the cultivation operation.

The investigating officer also noted the power usage of the facility was significantly higher than nearby businesses, attributing that to cannabis cultivation rather than powerful medical imaging technology.

The owners of NoHo Diagnostic Center are demanding an unspecified amount in damages.
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Gregory Wroclawski

Bungled Cannibis Raid

October 03, 2024 10:16

Seems like it would've been easier to get a doctor (I'm sure there is a couple the LAPD work with) to write a script for a MRI and have an LAPD employee schedule a scan at the image center to enter it and see it is a legitimate MR facility.

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Pete Schliebner

re: Bungled Cannibis Raid

October 16, 2024 02:38

Please, be serious. You are asking the LAPD to act logically. That will not happen. Not in Los Angeles.
This is a clear example of a government agency making a big show with an unnecessary and illegal SWAT raid. It is happening far too often throughout the country. At least they didn't shoot anyone this time.
No one is ever held accountable and the damages never come out of their own pockets. The taxpayers always end up paying the bills.

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