James E. Davis (New York politician)

The NYPD soon assigned Davis to the New York City Police Academy as an instructor, and he became a frequent guest on local radio and television programs.

The template for his successful City Council bid had been established by previous races against Assemblyman and Democratic Kings County Chairman Clarence Norman Jr., who narrowly defeated him in 1998.

After pursuing litigation against the police department, Davis's claim that he never formally accepted the Liberal Party nomination was upheld and he was allowed to reclaim his job.

Once in the balcony, and as the full council and dozens of attendees gathered into the chamber for the meeting, at 2:08 p.m., Askew fired a silver .40 caliber weapon at Davis, striking him several times in the torso.

Paramedics arrived quickly, and attempted to revive both Davis and Askew before taking them to Beekman Downtown Hospital, where both men died.

However, in the adaptation, the dead councilman was an innocent bystander, with the second victim, a low-level bureaucrat who survived with a shoulder wound, as the true target.