aGameOfThrones
11-03-2014, 12:30 PM
Local Missouri authorities requested a no-fly zone over the St. Louis suburb of Ferguson during street protests to keep news helicopters away, according to an Associated Press report, which cited audio recordings of federal aviation workers.
Police have been criticized for using rubber bullets, tear gas, dogs and pointing weapons at protesters during demonstrations that followed the Aug. 9 shooting of unarmed black teenager Michael Brown by white Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson.
The Federal Aviation Administration imposed flight restrictions over 37 square miles of airspace surrounding the town for 12 days. Air traffic managers struggled to redefine the ban to let commercial flights operate at Lambert-St. Louis International Airport and to let police helicopters fly through the area but ban other traffic, the AP reported on Sunday.
"They finally admitted it really was to keep the media out," said one FAA manager about the St. Louis County Police in a series of recorded telephone conversations obtained by the AP through a U.S. Freedom of Information Act request.
The conversations contradict statements from the St. Louis County Police Department that the restriction was solely for safety, the AP reported.
St. Louis County Police spokesman Brian Schellman said in an email to Reuters on Monday that the request for restricted airspace was made "due to the hostile nature of certain persons on the ground" who fired gunshots at a police helicopter.
"The pilots made the decision to request that all aircraft, not just media aircraft, be restricted for the safety of those using that airspace," Schellman said.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-ferguson-no-fly-zone-20141103-story.html
Police have been criticized for using rubber bullets, tear gas, dogs and pointing weapons at protesters during demonstrations that followed the Aug. 9 shooting of unarmed black teenager Michael Brown by white Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson.
The Federal Aviation Administration imposed flight restrictions over 37 square miles of airspace surrounding the town for 12 days. Air traffic managers struggled to redefine the ban to let commercial flights operate at Lambert-St. Louis International Airport and to let police helicopters fly through the area but ban other traffic, the AP reported on Sunday.
"They finally admitted it really was to keep the media out," said one FAA manager about the St. Louis County Police in a series of recorded telephone conversations obtained by the AP through a U.S. Freedom of Information Act request.
The conversations contradict statements from the St. Louis County Police Department that the restriction was solely for safety, the AP reported.
St. Louis County Police spokesman Brian Schellman said in an email to Reuters on Monday that the request for restricted airspace was made "due to the hostile nature of certain persons on the ground" who fired gunshots at a police helicopter.
"The pilots made the decision to request that all aircraft, not just media aircraft, be restricted for the safety of those using that airspace," Schellman said.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-ferguson-no-fly-zone-20141103-story.html