American police officers mistook a medical center for an illegal cannabis factory, and were particularly clumsy during their search, approaching an MRI machine whose powerful magnets attracted and blocked a rifle, according to a complaint filed in California.
The owners of the establishment are seeking damages from the Los Angeles police, because of this raid described by their lawyers as a “disorganized circus”.
A SWAT team, a heavily armed elite unit, invaded this medical diagnostic center after the squadron leader managed to obtain a search warrant from a magistrate, according to the complaint, filed last week.
This officer, who had completed “twelve hours of narcotics training,” noticed that the medical diagnostic center consumed more electricity than neighboring businesses, according to the document.
He therefore “concluded that the establishment was cultivating cannabis, without taking into account the fact that it is a diagnostic center using an MRI machine, an X-ray machine and other heavy medical equipment, unlike businesses surrounding areas that sell flowers, chocolates and children’s toys,” denounces the complaint.
During their raid last October, agents found only offices, a single employee and medical equipment, including magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).
One of the officers ignored the warning sign on the machine, which warns to keep metal objects away, because the device uses very powerful magnets to create detailed scans of the human body.
“As expected, the magnetic force of the MRI machine attracted the officer’s rifle … and attached it to the machine,” the complaint explains.
One of the police officers then pressed the emergency stop button. “This action caused a rapid loss of superconductivity of the MRI magnet, leading to the evaporation of approximately 2,000 liters of helium and considerable damage to the device,” according to the document.
According to the medical center, the police officer whose rifle was taken left the magazine filled with bullets in the imaging room after retrieving his weapon.
Contacted by AFP, the Los Angeles police explained that they do not comment on current cases.
