WASHINGTON — Amnesty International has taken "unprecedented" action to deal with the situation in Ferguson, Missouri, by sending resources the human rights group has never before deployed inside the United States.

The organization has been on the ground in Ferguson since Thursday. It sent a 13-person human rights delegation to the city in the wake of the Aug. 9 police shooting death of Michael Brown.

Jasmine Heiss, a senior campaigner with Amnesty and part of the team in Ferguson, said the use of the "cross-functional team" — which she said included community trainers, researchers, and human rights observers — was "unprecedented" within the U.S. for the group.

On Saturday, after Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon declared a state of emergency and put a curfew in place in Ferguson, Amnesty International USA's executive director, Steven W. Hawkins, issued a scathing statement.

"We criticize dictators for quelling dissent and silencing protestors with tactics like curfews, we'll certainly speak out when it's happening in our own backyard," he said. "The people of Ferguson have the right to protest peacefully the lack of accountability for Michael Brown's shooting."