By Lolita Long and Winsome Morgan, Gleaner WritersNEW YORK:
AN INTENSE rivalry between Brooklyn City Councilman James E. Davis and a political wanna-be ended last Wednesday in a chaotic scene at City Hall, when Davis was shot to death by the would-be politician, who in turn was killed by an alert police officer. Many described the shooting as "death in the heart of democracy".
In the first-ever slaying in City Hall, the 41-year-old Councilman was shot on the balcony overlooking the Council chamber, where he and other members fought to make a difference in their communities. He had been shot by Othniel Askew, the very person who had accompanied Davies to City Hall.
Reports, from some close to the Councilman, are that Askew was "acting strange". On the morning of the shooting, he visited Davis at his office on Dekalb Avenue, in Brooklyn, and asked to accompany him to City Hall. Davis agreed, and on arrival, he escorted Askew around the metal detectors. Council members are usually required to go through the metal detectors but the unofficial "professional courtesy" policy was that security personnel would allow their guests, who were accompanying them, to also skirt the detectors.
BALCONY
Davis spent some time in the Council chamber and then just before the Council was called to order he went up to the balcony. Shortly after that, several shots rang out.
One member said that Askew, who was standing in the balcony, fired several shots hitting Davies in the chest, and even shooting at him "execution style" after he fell to the floor. Police Officer Richard Burt, hailed as a hero by everyone, calmly lined up his sights on the killer and took him out with some marksman style shooting. Burt hit the gunman with five out of six bullets he fired from his vantagepoint in the Council chamber.
Mayor Bloomberg has issued an award to the heroic cop for his quick thinking in response to the chaos that ensued at City Hall. "Today, in the midst of a tragic and confusing event, a member of New York's finest, Richard Burt, saved lives through his heroic actions." The Mayor said, "I would like to personally thank him for putting himself in harm's way to protect the rest of us."
Speculations are still swirling surrounding the shooting, but media reports say Askew carried some kind of bizarre grudge against Davis, stemming from his desire to challenge Davis in the upcoming Council primary. Askew began collecting petitions but somehow missed the July 10 deadline to file petitions with the Campaign Finance Board. Askew was always very well dressed and began hanging around Davis' district office, talking with Davis, barging in on his meetings, and making odd remarks from time to time.
MENTOR
Davis' spokeswoman, Amyre Looms, said that Davis never expressed any ill feelings toward Askew, but said he thought of himself as a mentor in this case, and of Askew, as having potential.
With the failed attempt to enter the political arena, Askew is said to have tried another approach. Andre Hankiym Right of the Fort Greene Community Action Network said that Askew always seemed odd: "He was always saying warped things, we just didn't pick up on it."
Right recalled that Askew had brought a letter to Davis to sign which would make him (Askew) the "Council designee", to take over the seat, if anything happened to Davis. No such position is known to exist and it is not clear what Davis did in regards to that letter.
Councilman Davis, a Democrat, won election to the Council in 2001, representing Crown Heights and Fort Greene in Brooklyn. A former police officer, he was set to defend his seat in the upcoming re-election, when his life and work was cut short by violence.
