The official said the Georgia sheriff’s captain, who said the spa shooter in Atlanta had a “bad day” when he allegedly went on a rampage, had a reign of terror.
Capt. Jay Baker will no longer serve as spokesman on the case following the controversial comments made on Wednesday, a day after Robert Aaron Long allegedly shot eight people – including six Asian women – at the massage parlors in Atlanta, reports WSB -TV.
The network said the Sheriff’s Office in Cherokee County, where Baker serves as communications director, is also evaluating his future at the department.
After the massacre, Baker told reporters Long was trying to eliminate a sexual ‘temptation’ by shooting the three spas and massage parlors.
“He was quite fed up and at the end of his rope, and yesterday was a very bad day for him, and that’s what he did,” he told reporters at the time.
Baker, who has been serving in law enforcement for 28 years, also allegedly posted a photo on Facebook blaming the COVID-19 pandemic in China. The post has since been deleted.
Cherokee County Sheriff Frank Reynolds on Thursday apologized for Baker’s “insensitive” and “inappropriate” remarks, saying the flattery did not mean contempt for the victims or “empathy or sympathy with the suspect”.
Reynolds spoke to WSB-TV and said Baker used a ‘poor choice of words’ and called his Facebook message ‘unfortunate’.
“This is where we need to look at Jay’s future with the sheriff and what it looks like,” he told the network. “We have not made that decision yet.”