NYC COUNCILMAN SHOOTER ... Friend or foe?
(Jul. 28, 2003) Just a day after NYC (Brooklyn) Councilman James Davis was gunned down at City Hall last week, two different stories surfaced about the attacker, 31-year-old Othniel Askew. Some called Askew a political rival, while others described the man as a Davis protégé.
Askew on the other hand, painted a different picture of Davis is his statements to the FBI hours before the shooting. He told the FBI that Davis offered him $45,000 to give up a primary election challenge and threatened to hurt his family if he did not. Askew also rambled, as investigators described, something about Davis exposing him as gay, offering him $15,000 a year for a no-show staff job, and selling him a downtown building for $1.
At this point, no one has corroborated Askew’s claims.
Askew showed up at Davis’ offices in Brooklyn last Wednesday, as he often had, and asked Davis if they could go to City Hall together. Davis agreed and the two were waved past metal detectors when entering the building.
Members of Davis' staff say the councilman considered himself a mentor to the 31-year-old Askew. They said there was no indication in the final weeks of Davis' life that there was bad blood between the two.
Davis' funeral is scheduled for Tuesday in Brooklyn. His body will lie in state at City Hall this afternoon.
Othniel Askew was interviewed by New York TV station WCBS just days before he shot and killed NYC/Brooklyn Councilman James Davis