The Death Cookie

One man had something to say about local corruption and crime - and put justice back on the streets!

No, actually not at all.

Charles Lee 'Cookie' Thornton was a lunatic with a history of acrimony against civic leaders, which is why he stormed City Hall during a council meeting guns a-blazzin'. He killed two police officers and three city officials before he was shot and killed. The mayor was also critically injured in the rampage.

The victims at the meeting in suburban St. Louis were killed after Cookie rushed the council chambers and began firing as he yelled "Shoot the mayor!" After killing one officer outside City Hall, he walked into the chambers and shot another before continuing to fire, a witness named Panus said. Panus? P-anus? That's an unfortunate name.

Cookie was well-known at City Hall, often making outrageous comments at public meetings. Mayor Swoboda had said that Thornton's contentious remarks over the years created "one of the most embarrassing situations that I have experienced in my many years of public service." It was said during the meeting by Cookie that he had been issued more than 150 tickets. Damn - don't you understand the yellow curb is only for loading and unloading?

He was arrested twice and later convicted for disorderly conduct for outbursts at two council meetings in 2006, convinced the city was persecuting him. When allowed to speak during one meeting, he approached the podium with a posterboard with a picture of a donkey and began making harassing remarks about Swoboda. In a federal lawsuit stemming from those meetings, Thornton, representing himself, insisted that Kirkwood officials violated his constitutional rights to free speech by barring him from speaking at the meetings. But a judge in St. Louis tossed out the suit, writing that "any restrictions on Thornton's speech were reasonable, viewpoint neutral, and served important governmental interests."

Even though I couldn't find Fishbone's "Fuck The Meter Maids" (which would be perfect here), here's something from the boys that ought to cheer you up.