Imaging center drug raid goes awry after cop's gun is sucked into MRI scanner

Los Angeles Police Department officers narrowly avoided harm after one of their rifles was pulled into an MRI scanner during a failed raid on a local imaging center.

A federal lawsuit filed last week by the owners of NoHo Diagnostic Center—an imaging facility in San Fernando Valley, California—alleges that the sting operation put lives at risk and inflicted damage on expensive medical  equipment. According to the lawsuit, in October 2023, the LAPD conducted a raid on the imaging center due to its higher than usual energy consumption and a “distinct odor” of cannabis coming from the facility. 

Officers detained a single female employee while they searched the building for signs of illegal drug activity, the suit alleges. Once the employee was released shortly after, she was advised to call her manager. During the search, an officer walked past a sign warning passersby that they were entering an MRI safety zone where metal was prohibited.  

The officer was carrying an unsecured rifle at the time, which was pulled into the scanner, Law 360 reports. Thankfully, the gun did not discharge. It is then alleged that another officer pulled a sealed emergency release button to turn off the scanner, “deactivating it, evaporating thousands of liters of helium gas and damaging the machine in the process.” 

Once he had retrieved his gun, the officer left the room, leaving behind a magazine filled with bullets, according to the lawsuit. Nothing suspicious was recovered from the raid, which owners of the imaging facility described as "nothing short of a disorganized circus, with no apparent rules, procedures, or even a hint of coordination." 

NoHo Diagnostic Center is suing the LAPD, the city of Los Angeles and multiple police officers, requesting damages and accusing the defendants of violating their constitutional rights.