Police Officer's Gun Sucked Away by Powerful Magnets in Lab Raid - Newsweek

A police officer's rifle was sucked into an MRI machine during a cannabis raid gone wrong in a California health center, a federal lawsuit has claimed.

During the search, the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) officer's rifle was allegedly pulled into the device by its very powerful magnets, which are used to make a 3D image of a patient's body.

Two thousand liters of helium gas were allegedly released as a result of the rifle striking the machine. After retrieving his rifle, the officer is said to have accidentally left a magazine full of bullets on the floor of the MRI room.

The lawsuit states the LAPD found no evidence of cannabis during the search of the NoHo Diagnostic Center, which is now suing the police department, Police Chief Michael Moore, the city of Los Angeles and individual officers for what it says was an illegal raid last October, in addition to the damage from the metal of the gun hitting the sensitive components of the MRI machine.

The initial lawsuit was filed on September 18 by the clinic's lawyer, Hayk Yeghoyan.

Newsweek sought email comment from the LAPD, the City of Los Angeles and Yeghoyan on Friday.

On Monday, the federal district court for Central California issued a summons to the city and to the LAPD to inform them that a lawsuit has been filed against them. They now have 21 days to respond.

As part of the application for a search warrant, an Officer Kenneth Franco stated that the Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety received a noise complaint about the air conditioning units, suggesting cannabis cultivation in the clinic, according to the lawsuit.

"Franco conducted surveillance on multiple dates in 2023, reporting the 'distinct odor of live cannabis plant and not the odor of dried cannabis being smoked,' tinted windows–which he attributed to efforts to conceal cannabis cultivation, security cameras– which he associated with locations where cannabis is grown to prevent theft, and two individuals in similar attire at the premises – whom he concluded were performing maintenance or expanding the cultivation operation," the lawsuit alleges.

It states that some of the clinics windows "are tinted to maintain a sense of privacy for patients."

On October 18, 2023, Franco and other police officers raided the clinic, armed with a search warrant. The lawsuit states that they found no incriminating evidence and the operation was like a disorganized "circus," with officers freely roaming the corridors.

One LAPD officer, "dangling a rifle in his right hand, with an unsecured strap, approached the MRI Office" and glanced at the large warning sign on the door that read: 'Warning. Magnetic Field. High Frequency Yield. Metal Parts and Medical Instruments of All Types prohibited.'" He then walked into the MRI Office, according to the lawsuit.

"Expectedly, the magnetic force of the MRI machine attracted the LAPD Officer's loose rifle, securing it to the machine," the filing continues.

"The MRI machine was equipped with a sealed emergency pull button labeled, 'Caution, Emergency Use Only.' This button was intended to be activated solely in the event of a genuine emergency, such as a health risk to a patient inside the machine, a fire, or an evacuation situation.

"Rather than seeking assistance from the on-site employee, or waiting for the manager's arrival, one of the LAPD Officers made the unilateral decision to break the seal and activate the emergency shutdown button, deactivating the MRI machine," the lawsuit states.

This caused the MRI's magnet to "rapidly lose superconductivity, leading to the evaporation of approximately 2000 liters of helium gas and resulting in extensive damage to the MRI machine," the lawsuit claims.

"The LAPD Officer then grabbed his rifle, this time wearing the strap over his shoulder as he should have when he entered the MRI room, and proceeded to walk toward the entrance, leaving the magazine full of bullets on the floor of the MRI office," the filing adds.

Correction 9/30/2024, 2:42 a.m. ET: The original article referred to the NYPD being involved in the lawsuit. It is the LAPD.

Sean O'Driscoll is a Newsweek Senior Crime and Courts Reporter based in Ireland. His focus is reporting on U.S. law. He has covered human rights and extremism extensively. Sean joined Newsweek in 2023 and previously worked for The Guardian, The New York Times, BBC, Vice and others from the Middle East. He specialized in human rights issues in the Arabian Gulf and conducted a three-month investigation into labor rights abuses for The New York Times. He was previously based in New York for 10 years. He is a graduate of Dublin City University and is a qualified New York attorney and Irish solicitor.

You can get in touch with Sean by emailing [email protected]. Languages: English and French.

Sean O'Driscoll is a Newsweek Senior Crime and Courts Reporter based in Ireland. His focus is reporting on U.S. law. ...Read more