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.

  • @[email protected]
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    fedilink
    33 months ago

    Could you unplug your MRI machine and put a Kil-a-Watt on it for me? I’m really curious how much they consume at idle.

    • @Dubiousx99
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      23 months ago

      These machines are typically wired to electrical directly. I would expect they are powered using 480 VAC. Google states they typically use about 14kw in standby mode and up to 80 kw for a scan.