News / Human Rights

FBI used spy aircraft above Ferguson last year: Director

Friday, 23 October 2015 1:25 PM [ Last Update: Friday, 23 October 2015 1:44 PM ]

Federal Bureau of Investigation Director James Comey testifies before the House Judiciary Committee on "Oversight of the Federal Bureau of Investigation" in Washington, DC, October 22, 2015. (AFP photo)

The head of the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has acknowledged that the agency used its controversial surveillance planes above the city of Ferguson last year to help keep track of violent protests on the ground.

FBI Director James Comey made the remarks during a congressional hearing on Thursday, saying the agency acted at the request of local law enforcement.

But he did not provide further details during the House Judiciary Committee inquiry, including how long the FBI surveillance lasted.

Comey said the FBI used the aircraft during investigations of specific suspects in criminal, terrorism and espionage cases and when local police requested help during a “developing situation” or emergencies such as riots.

“We don’t fly planes around America looking down to see if somebody might be doing something wrong,” Comey told the panel.

Mass protests in Ferguson, Missouri, erupted after a white officer shot dead an unarmed African-American teenager on August 9, 2014.

The protesters were demanding the criminal indictment of Darren Wilson, who shot 18-year-old Michael Brown multiple times, but police used excessive force against the protesters and peaceful demonstrations turned violent.

Comey said the FBI’s deployment of spy planes in Ferguson was similar to the help offered during riots in Baltimore in April that followed the death of African-American man Freddie Gray after fatal injuries suffered in police custody.

Protesters demonstrate outside the Ferguson Police Department in Ferguson, Missouri on March 4, 2015. (AFP photo)

“If there is tremendous turbulence in a community, it’s useful to everybody — civilians and law enforcement — to have a view of what’s going on,” Comey added.

“Where are the fires in this community? Where are people gathering? Where do people need help? And sometimes the best view of that is above rather than trying to look from a car in the street,” he added.

People in the US have been simmering with rage due to death of several unarmed black Americans at the hands of police and grand jury decisions not to indict the officers responsible.

The police killing of Brown and several other unarmed African-American men during the summer of 2014 sparked a national debate on race and led to months of street protests across the country over police harassment and mistreatment of minorities.

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