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To: All
FRom NY1:

http://www.ny1.com/ny/NY1ToGo/Story/index.html?topicintid=1&subtopicintid=1&contentintid=31940

The man who shot and killed City Councilman James Davis in an unprecedented attack at City Hall Wednesday was a one-time political rival of the councilman who may have held a grudge against him even as the two men appeared to reconcile their differences.

Davis, a first-term councilman from Brooklyn's 35th Council District, was gunned down by 31-year-old Othniel Askew during a routine hearing in the Council chambers shortly after 2 p.m. Tuesday.

Askew, who was shot by a plainclothes police officer, later died.

Askew had initially planned to run against Davis for his Council seat in the upcoming election, but the two men had recently decided to join forces. Sources say they began the day at Davis' Brooklyn office before going to City Hall together.

At an early evening press conference, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said that video cameras at City Hall recorded images of the two men speaking to each other as they entered the building. Both men walked around the building’s metal detectors, because Davis' position as a councilmember allowed him to bypass security measures.

Once inside the Council rotunda, Davis introduced Askew to several colleagues as a former opponent who was now working with him.

"This is the guy who was once against me, but now he's with me," Councilman Charles Barron quoted Davis as saying.

Councilman Kendall Stewart also said he had spoken with Askew before the shooting: "We had just had the conversation that he had made peace with his opponent and that he would be working with him."

However, Davis' relationship with Askew may not have been as close as it appeared.

An FBI official tells NY1 that Askew had filed a complaint against David with the bureau only hours before the shooting. According to the FBI, a man identifying himself as Askew phoned the New York City FBI office late Wednesday morning to report that Davis had been harassing him in connection with the upcoming primary election.

Askew made no threats of violence against the councilman.

The FBI official says that the information was forwarded to the bureau's Public Corruption Unit, and was later passed on to the New York Police Department after news of the shooting broke.

The NYPD is continuing its investigation of the incident.
858 posted on 07/23/2003 4:59:36 PM PDT by hellinahandcart
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To: hellinahandcart
But it sounds like Askew and Davis knew each other all too well, as opposed to Fortuyn and the vegan.

Dead is Dead. Familiarity or not.

"This is the guy who was once against me, but now he's with me," Councilman Charles Barron quoted Davis as saying.

This appears to be a wake up call. So, was this MAN a socialist liberal D,rat or what?

859 posted on 07/23/2003 5:20:03 PM PDT by michigander
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