An X-ray and imaging clinic in North Hollywood appears poised to resolve a lawsuit accusing the Los Angeles Police Department of storming the facility under the false belief that it was an illegal marijuana grow — a raid that left an MRI machine catastrophically damaged by an officer’s rifle.
A Raid, a Magnetic Field, and a Stuck Rifle
The case captured nationwide attention after allegations surfaced that an LAPD officer stepped directly into the MRI room despite prominent warning signs, wandered into the machine’s magnetic field, and watched his rifle get sucked into the equipment like metal drawn to a gravitational vortex. In the chaos, he allegedly hit the emergency shutdown switch, effectively destroying the machine.
But the spectacle may end not with a public showdown, but a quiet financial settlement.
Parties Reach Conditional Agreement
In a joint motion filed Tuesday, NoHo Diagnostic Center and attorneys for the city told the California federal court they had reached a “full and complete conditional settlement.” The agreement still requires approval from both the Los Angeles City Council and the mayor’s office, the filing noted, and the parties asked the court to suspend all pending deadlines.
Behind the scenes, the LAPD sought to limit potential embarrassment.
