Written by Julia Marnin
Merced Sunstar (Merced, California)
LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles police suspect a medical center was secretly growing marijuana and searched the facility during a raid, but an officer's “loose” rifle stuck in an MRI machine. was damaged, the federal lawsuit says.
The complaint says the raid was unfounded, illegal and supported by lies from one officer.
According to the complaint, Los Angeles Police Department officers did not find any marijuana plants at the Noho Diagnostic Center in the Van Nuys neighborhood of Los Angeles on October 18, 2023, but continued to enter the facility after releasing the detained officers. It is said that they were “roaming around freely”. Submitted on September 18th.
One of the officers, a rifle slung in his hand, walked into the MRI office, where a sign warning of strong magnetic fields, “No Metal Parts and Medical Devices of Any Kind,” was posted, according to the complaint. .
He saw the sign, opened the office door and went inside with a weapon, according to the complaint.
The gun flew from the officer's hand due to the “magnetic force” of the MRI machine and became lodged in the machine, according to the complaint.
Instead of consulting medical staff, another LAPD officer broke the seal on the emergency button and deactivated the MRI machine, according to the complaint.
The MRI machine's magnets quickly lost their “superconductivity,” causing about 2,000 liters of helium gas to evaporate and damage the machine, according to the lawsuit.
The officer with the rifle retrieved the weapon and exited the room, leaving the loaded magazine on the floor, according to the complaint.
“The entire operation was nothing short of a chaotic circus, with no apparent rules, procedures, or coordination,” the complaint states.
Noho Diagnostic Center and its chief financial officer are suing the city of Los Angeles, the Los Angeles Police Department, several police officers and former police chief Michelle Moore for alleged Fourth Amendment violations and negligence.
The city and police department did not immediately respond to McClatchy News' request for comment on Sept. 26.
According to the complaint, the raid on Noho Diagnostic Center stemmed from an application for a search warrant by Los Angeles Police Department officers.
Officers said there were noise complaints about the medical center's air conditioning system and that marijuana may have been grown inside.
According to the complaint, he repeatedly monitored the premises in 2023 and reported “the distinct odor of live marijuana, not the smell of smoked dried marijuana,” as well as tinted windows, security cameras and similar attire. It is said that two people who did this were reported.
Patients watched heroes and villains battle from their windows during Dell Children's Medical Center's “Super Hero Day.”
September 29, 2024 08:00 AM
“From little abandoned pup to hero. We will miss K9 Maddie” said GARD K9
September 29, 2024 07:00 AM
Rescue teams used a fixed-wing aircraft, airboat, UTV and ambulance to locate and extract the man from a remote location.
September 29, 2024 06:00 AM
The bill, aimed at reducing traffic fatalities, would have required drivers to beep an audible warning if their vehicle was going at least 16 miles per hour over the speed limit.
September 28, 2024 10:21 PM
The complaint says officers believed these were signs of a hidden marijuana grow operation and efforts to expand it.
It was also determined that the medical center was not licensed to grow marijuana, a finding that determined the facility was in violation of California health and safety regulations, according to the complaint.
Officers believed his observations were a “possible source of marijuana cultivation,” and a search warrant was issued, according to the complaint.
The complaint says his false statements in support of the search warrant led to an “unlawful and unreasonable” raid of the medical facility by the Los Angeles Police Department, in violation of the Fourth Amendment.
The complaint accuses the Los Angeles Police Department of damaging property during the raid, further violating the Fourth Amendment.
“The extensive damage to Plaintiffs' property was not accidental or incidental to the valid execution of a search warrant, but rather the extensive damage to Plaintiffs' property, which had already been searched and searched, by LAPD officers with rifles carelessly dangling.'' “This is the result of unwarranted and/or reckless indifference by the person who entered the MRI room with one hand,” the complaint states.
The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages and requests a jury trial.
___
(c)2024 the Merced Sun-Star (Merced, California)
Visit Merced Sun-Star, Merced, California, at www.mercedsunstar.com.
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
