Police insist that the "no-fly zone" was established over Ferguson, Missouri amid the protests after the shooting of Michael Brown in August had nothing to do with media coverage and was put in place solely for safety reasons. "At no time did we request that media be [subject to] restricted airspace," St. Louis County Police Chief Jon Belmar told reporters Monday. The FAA recommended the temporary flight restriction on its own initiative, Belmar said, "due to concern of the amount of air traffic in the Ferguson area." There were no restrictions above 3,000 feet, the altitude police were flying at, and in fact "there were some media who got permission to do that," he said. White House press secretary Josh Earnest backed that account Monday.
