Ferguson No-Fly Zone Aimed At Media

Photographer arrested in Ferguson Aug 2014

Police in Ferguson, Missouri requested the federal government institute a no-fly zone in more than 37 square miles of airspace surrounding the city in an effort to keep news helicopters away during violent protests, the Associated Press reported Sunday.

Fox News reports the Federal Aviation Administration in August agreed to the police request to restrict the airspace surrounding Ferguson for 12 days, saying it was for safety due to the demonstrations following the shooting death of 18-year-old Michael Brown. However, officials reportedly acknowledged in taped telephone conversations that the real reason for the no-fly zone was to keep media helicopters away.

"They finally admitted it really was to keep the media out, one FAA manager said about the St. Louis County Police, according to the Associated Press. "But they were a little concerned of, obviously, anything else that could be going on."

FAA Administrator Michael Huerta said in a statement Sunday his agency will always err on the side of safety.

"FAA cannot and will never exclusively ban media from covering an event of national significance, and media was never banned from covering the ongoing events in Ferguson in this case," he said.

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