In the Atlanta spa killings, a Georgia sheriff reacts to a cop’s remark that he’s having a bad day.
After a police captain said the suspected Atlanta spa gunman had a “bad day” before killing eight people, a Georgia sheriff was forced to issue a mea culpa on Thursday, insisting the remarks were not supposed to be disrespectful.
According to a press release posted on Twitter, Cherokee County Sheriff Frank Reynolds responded to the uproar over Capt. Jay Baker’s controversial remarks, saying that they “weren’t meant to disrespect any of the victims.”
Robert Aaron Long, 21, is accused of opening fire at three spas in the Atlanta area on Tuesday, killing eight people and seriously injuring a ninth.
In a tweet, Reynolds said, “Comments made by Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office Captain Jay Baker have become the subject of much discussion and frustration.”
“To the extent that his comments were interpreted as offensive or unacceptable, they were not intended to offend any of the victims, the gravity of the tragedy, or show empathy or compassion for the suspect,” Reynolds said.
“There are clearly no words to explain the level of human suffering endured in our society and in Atlanta on Tuesday, March 16, 2021.”
Long reportedly admitted to police that he had a sex addiction and was seeking to “eliminate” his sexual “temptation,” according to Baker’s remarks.
During Wednesday’s press conference, Baker said, “He has a problem that he considers a sex addiction and sees these locations as something that encourages him to go to these places.” “It was a lure that he had to get rid of.”
Reynolds said he has known Baker “for many years” and cited his “close connections to the Asian community” in a statement released Thursday that stopped just short of an apology.
“On behalf of the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office’s committed women and men, we apologize for any heartache Captain Baker’s words may have caused,” he said.
According to police, six of the shooting victims were Asian women.
