- A video of Shawnee City Council manager Doug Gerber masturbating was sent anonymously to staff over a month ago
- The anonymous sender of the video told a news source that they “don’t hesitate to expose people involved in unCatholic practices.”
- Councilors released a joint statement calling for an investigation
A Kansas City Council employee has been placed on administrative leave after his colleagues received a video of him masturbating.
The lewd images of Shawnee City Council Manager Doug Gerber were sent anonymously to city workers in an email with the subject line: “MOST IMPORTANT.”
Gerber did not personally send the video to his colleagues and his city computer system was not used to distribute the broadcast.
It is clear that the video was shared by a third party sender from a private Gmail address.
One of the city’s IT staff told staff that the sender had been blocked and that this was “just a crazy individual trying to cause problems with the city.”
Gerber declined to comment on the incident, saying, “I believe it is not in the best interest of the city to comment at this time.”
A video of Shawnee City Council manager Doug Gerber masturbating was sent anonymously to city staff over a month ago
The video appears to have been shot by Gerber alone on a couch.
It is not known when and where the video was recorded, or for whom the video was intended.
The anonymous sender also emailed The Kansas City Star: “We have no hesitation in exposing those involved in these dubious and unCatholic practices.”
While the video landed in inboxes over a month ago, no one on city staff told council members about its existence.
Council members Eric Jenkins and Angela Stiens said they had not received the email.
Jenkins claimed he had not heard about the video until a reporter asked him for comment, while Stiens said she had never seen the video.
‘That was the first I heard of it. That wasn’t good. No one felt they had to inform the governing body,” he said.
‘I find it unbelievable that no one has told the city council. We have an HR director, two assistant city managers, department heads and the city manager. I mean, no one would bother telling the elected officials that this is percolating right here at City Hall?
“Ethically, it was certainly the city manager’s responsibility to inform us that this email existed at City Hall and among the staff. He really had to tell us.’
The anonymous sender of the video emailed The Kansas City Star: “We have no hesitation in exposing those involved in these dubious and un-Catholic practices.”
The video hit inboxes over a month ago, but no one from city staff told council members about its existence
Stiens said: ‘I’ve never seen it. I don’t know anything about it. From what I understand, most city employees didn’t even know about it either. They found out the same way we did: through the Kansas City Star.”
It was reportedly only afterward that council members and the city’s mayor became aware of the video’s existence The Kansas City star has filed a Kansas Open Records Act request for all emails related to the incident.
After council members learned of its existence, an emergency meeting was held at which it was decided to place Gerber on administrative leave.
The city is now searching for an interim city manager and three city council candidates released a joint statement calling for an investigation into Gerber’s actions.