The final fleeting images of two rival Brooklyn pols on their date with death at City Hall begins with images of the doomed Brooklyn duo strolling breezily past security – and ending with New Yorkers fleeing for their lives in the panic that followed.
Freeze-frame video footage of the two slain politicians captured by security cameras and news images made by Chinese TV journalists were released yesterday. Both videos offer glimpses of the pair in the moments leading to their violent deaths.
The videotape, shot by surveillance equipment placed outside City Hall and in a lobby area, shows Councilman James Davis and would-be pol Othniel Boaz Askew strolling through the gates and into the chambers with an unidentified third man thought to be a Davis aide.
The footage – released yesterday by the NYPD – showed images taken by cameras mounted on buildings and poles along Broadway and aimed across the plaza, toward the steps of City Hall.
Other shots showed politicians going to work inside the 191-year-old building in the minutes before mayhem erupted.
The video shows the two Fort Greene politicians marching past a security kiosk and through the west gate, then entering City Hall to their deaths.
At one point in the tape, Askew can be seen strolling alone through one of the gates. Moments later, he is followed by Davis. The councilman can also be seen glad-handing on the steps of City Hall and speaking briefly with reporters.
Finally, at exactly 2:08 p.m. – the time Askew pumped six bullets into Davis – panicked New Yorkers are seen running for safety through the lobby.
Separate footage shot by the Chinese-language Sino Television showed the two doomed men standing behind a group of Asian-American officials on the steps of City Hall.
Sino TV producer Tina Yang said the slain pols were standing close to Chinese-American city Councilman John Liu and his assistant, John Choe.
Councilman Charles Barron can also be seen standing on the steps.
Davis was up for re-election this fall, and Askew had filed papers with the Campaign Finance Board showing he wanted to compete.
Police said Askew and Davis – on their date with death – had walked around a metal detector at City Hall, enabling Askew to smuggle in a loaded .40-caliber pistol in his waistband and seven bullets in his socks.
Askew also had a letter in which Davis thanked him for his support and promised a spot on his staff, but it was not immediately clear whether he had drafted the letter himself.
Another television crew also captured Davis, standing with another politician, putting up his hand as Askew tried to get within camera range, according to local reports.
Investigators said yesterday that once the two rivals were inside City Hall, they had gone to the balcony in the council chamber.
Davis stayed only momentarily. Then, as he started to leave for the council floor, Askew got up and shot him in the back, then fired five more shots at the Fort Greene pol.
Officials say the bullets went through Davis’ brain, lung and spine.
Officer Richard Burt, a plainclothes cop guarding Council Speaker Gifford Miller, quickly fired six shots up at Askew, hitting him four times.
Investigators said that, hours before his death, Askew had also called the FBI to claim that Davis had offered him a $45,000 payoff and threatened to expose him as gay – if he did not drop his council challenge.
The claims have not been corroborated.
Witnesses said the killings took place even though security had been stepped up at City Hall in the days following the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
Besides the installation of metal detectors, a police officer had been posted at the gate. But elected officials and City Hall staff, as well as guests and members of the media, had routinely bypassed the metal detectors.
Mayor Bloomberg said this week that the measures would be dramatically altered following Wednesday’s tragic shootings.
He said that all officials, including himself, will now have to go through metal detectors.