MOSCOW, August 19 (RIA Novosti) - The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) extended its restrictions on flying below 3,000 feet over Ferguson, a St. Louis suburb in Missouri, until August 25 in order to provide secure environment for law enforcement services in the city, AOL reported.
Last week, the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department asked the FAA to introduce limits on air traffic over Ferguson after protesters opened fire on a police helicopter. There are concerns that these limits may hinder the flights of helicopters of television networks that are providing a full coverage of the events.
This is not the first attempt to restrict the media’s work in the city. On Monday, photo agency Getty Images’ photographer Scott Olson was arrested while covering the protests. He was subsequently released Tuesday.
Last week, Washington Post reporter Wesley Lowery and Huffington Post reporter Ryan Reilly were taken into custody by local police as they were covering demonstrations at a McDonalds in Ferguson.
On August 9, a police officer in Ferguson shot dead Michael Brown, an African-American teenager, sparking mass protests in the city. Several people were injured in clashes with the police that used tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse the angry crowd.