Posted on 07/23/2003 11:19:01 AM PDT by Hillary's Lovely Legs
Shots Fired At New York City Hall, Mayor Bloomberg OK
POSTED: 2:18 p.m. EDT July 23, 2003
UPDATED: 2:51 p.m. EDT July 23, 2003NEW YORK -- A gunman opened fire inside the City Council chambers Wednesday afternoon during a routine hearing, wounding at least two people. Police were still searching for the shooter.
At least a dozen shots echoed across the second floor of the landmark lower Manhattan building, with reporters diving for cover beneath their desks one floor below as the hall's rotunda filled with screams.
The shooter was one of about 100 people in the balcony inside the second-floor council chambers when the gunfire began after 2 p.m, according to eyewitnesses.
"I looked up, and I saw someone shooting downward," said City Council member David Yassky. A security guard returned fire, according to Yassky.
Police sought a man in a blue suit in connection with the shooting, which continued for about three minutes. Mayor Michael Bloomberg was in his office but was not harmed, said his spokesman, Edward Skyler.
Two victims were rushed from the front of the building on stretchers and loaded into ambulances.
Police officers, including some in riot gear, were seen running across the plaza in front of the building once the shooting stopped. It was not immediately known if the shooter was captured.
The City Council was holding a meeting on Wednesday, but it was unclear if the shooting was related to the session.
The entrances and exits to the building were sealed off, and a stretcher was rushed inside by police in flak jackets.
New York, September 23, 2002 United States District Judge Shira A. Scheindlin today reversed a $100,000 federal jury verdict rendered in June for New York City Councilmember James E. Davis. Davis had filed a lawsuit claiming that the New York City Police Department violated his First Amendment rights by retaliating against him for speaking against alleged police brutality in 1998.
Judge Scheindlin determined that Davis failed to present sufficient evidence to support a finding that the New York City Police Department had a policy or custom of retaliating against its officers for engaging in First Amendment activities. Accordingly, Judge Scheindlin granted the Citys motion to dismiss the case and the reward.
>>snip<<<
The case grew out of Davis attempt to run for the State Assembly in 1998 while serving as a police officer. Section 1129 of the City Chrter provides that any police officer who is nominated by any party for an elected office and who does not decline the nomination within ten days must be deemed resigned.
>>>snip<<<
Despite acknowledging that his name was on the ballot and that he actively campaigned for public office, Davis insisted that he had not violated the Charter and had not resigned. Davis sought reinstatement and obtained a letter from the Liberal Party confirming that he had not been properly designated as a candidate by that party. By that time however, the Police Department was investigating claims of misconduct by Davis in connection with the 1998 campaign. Accordingly, the Department refused to reinstate Davis until the investigation was completed.
In compliance with a state court order, the Department reinstated Mr. Davis with full back pay, including interest. Nevertheless, Davis initiated his federal suit seeking millions of dollars in damages claiming that he suffered emotional damages and injury to his reputation as a result of the termination and refusal to reinstate.
Well, it's probably a white guy with a dark complexion.
I am uptown on 40th street
Based on the quality of your rant, Id bet around 40th and 8th, on a grate outside the bus terminal.
I think I gave you a quarter the other day.
Probably smuggled in by person pretending to be a little old lady in a wheel chair, you know, the kind of person that TSA is supposed to let through airport security with only minimal scruitny.
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