- Over a month ago, a video of Shawnee City Council Manager Doug Gerber masturbating was anonymously sent to staff
- The anonymous sender of the video told a news outlet that they “do not hesitate to expose people involved in un-Catholic practices.”
- Council members have released a joint statement calling for an investigation
A Kansas City Council employee was suspended after his colleagues received a video of him masturbating.
The offensive footage was sent anonymously to city council staff in an email with the subject line “IMPORTANT” by Shawnee City Council Manager Doug Gerber.
Gerber did not personally send the video to his colleagues and his city computer system was not used to distribute the broadcast.
The video is believed to have been shared by a third party via a private Gmail address.
One of the council’s IT staff told staff that the sender had been blocked and that it was “just a deranged individual trying to cause problems with the city”.
Gerber declined to comment on the incident, saying, “I don’t think it’s in the city’s best interest to comment at this time.”
A video of Shawnee City Council Manager Doug Gerber masturbating was sent anonymously to city staff more than a month ago
The video appears to have been filmed by Gerber alone on a couch.
It is not known when and where the video was recorded or who the video was intended for.
The anonymous sender also emailed The Kansas City Star: “We have no hesitation in exposing individuals involved in these dubious and un-Catholic practices.”
Although the video arrived in inboxes more than a month ago, none of the city employees told council members about its existence.
Council members Eric Jenkins and Angela Stiens said they did not receive 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 time I heard about it.” That wasn’t good. “Nobody felt like they should come forward and tell the governing body,” he said.
“I find it incredulous that no one told the city council. “We have a human resources director, two assistant city managers, department heads and the city manager. I mean, no one would bother telling the elected officials that this is leaking down here at City Hall?
“Ethically speaking, it was certainly the city manager’s responsibility to inform us that this email existed at City Hall and among staff. “He absolutely had to tell us.”
The anonymous sender of the video emailed The Kansas City Star: “We have no hesitation in exposing individuals involved in these dubious and un-Catholic practices.”
The video hit inboxes over a month ago, but none of the city employees told council members about its existence
Stiens said, “I’ve never seen it.” I don’t know anything about it. According to my understanding, [most city employees] didn’t even know about it. “They found out the same way we did – through the Kansas City Star.”
Council members and the city’s mayor reportedly only learned of the video’s existence after The Kansas City Star filed a Kansas Open Records Act request for all emails related to the incident.
After council members learned of this, an emergency meeting was held where it was decided to place Gerber on administrative leave.
The City Council is now looking for an interim city manager, and three City Council candidates issued a joint statement calling for an investigation into Gerber’s actions.