NYC Shooter Feared Being 'Outed'

Hours before his City Hall attack, gunman Othniel Askew told the FBI his eventual victim had threatened to expose him as gay and harm his family unless he dropped a political challenge, investigators say.

The killer also said City Councilman James Davis offered him a $45,000 payoff, $15,000 yearly payments, a no-show staff job and a Brooklyn building for $1 if he backed out of the Democratic primary for Davis' seat.

Askew laid out his claims of threats and offers in what investigators described as a rambling morning telephone call before he fatally shot the 41-year-old first-time councilman Wednesday on a balcony overlooking the council chamber.

Investigators described the call to The Associated Press on Thursday on condition of anonymity.

A City Council spokeswoman called the allegations "preposterous," and investigators said they have not corroborated Askew's claims.

But the claims underscore the complex, volatile relationship between the two men before their paths crossed one final time — when Askew walked into City Hall by Davis' side, then shot him dead. A police officer shot Askew seconds later.

Askew showed up at Davis' offices in Brooklyn on Wednesday — as he had several times in recent weeks — and asked if they could go to City Hall together. Davis agreed, and both men were waved past a metal detector.

Hours before the shooting, Askew called the FBI and said Davis "had used language that Askew had interpreted as that Davis was threatening to hurt his family somehow," one law enforcement official said.

The FBI has said only that a man identifying himself as Askew called its New York office to allege that Davis was harassing him over the upcoming primary election. They said the man made no threats of violence against Davis.

Askew had filed papers to run against Davis in the Democratic primary this fall, but he did not have the requisite signatures to enter the race. City Councilman Kendall Stewart said Davis had apparently made a deal with Askew in which the aspiring politician agreed not to run.

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 past few weeks that there was bad blood between the two men.

"James didn't hold a grudge," said Lupe Todd, a City Council spokeswoman.

Of Askew's claim to the FBI that Davis had threatened him, Todd said: "It sounds a bit preposterous." She declined to comment further.

Janet Minto, Davis' chief of staff, also declined to address the councilman's ties to Askew. "There is no explanation of this tragedy," she said in a statement.

Court records show Askew was charged with assault in 1996 and accused of beating his domestic partner with a hammer. Askew pleaded guilty to harassment and signed an order agreeing to stay away from the man.

In a search of Askew's home in Brooklyn, investigators found Davis campaign posters that appeared to have been torn down, police sources said. They also found HIV and antidepressant medication prescribed to Askew, the sources said.

David Sasser, who owns a gun dealership in Sneads Ferry, N.C., said Askew bought a $600 handgun from him in 2001. He said there was nothing unusual about the sale. "He had all the paperwork," Sasser said.

Also Thursday, Mayor Michael Bloomberg tightened security at City Hall, saying the only people allowed past security with guns would be on-duty law enforcement officials — not off-duty or retired officers. Davis, a former police officer, was carrying a holstered gun Wednesday, but did not draw the weapon.

Richard Burt, the officer who killed Askew with four bullets, was promoted to detective investigator at a ceremony in City Hall. He offered condolences to Davis' family and played down his own quick thinking.

"I don't consider myself a hero," said Burt, a nine-year police veteran. "I just did my job. I did what I was trained to do."