City council manager's colleagues sent video of him masturbating on couch

03 November 2023 , 15:59

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A disturbing video of Doug Gerber, the Shawnee City Council manager, was sent to council workers in September (Image: KMBC)

The manager of a city council has been suspended after a video of him masturbating was sent to his colleagues.

Disturbing footage of Doug Gerber, the Shawnee City Council manager in Kansas, masturbating on a couch, was sent anonymously to council workers in an email at the end of September. The subject line of the email was 'MOST IMPORTANT' and it's said the video was sent from a private Gmail address.

The Kansas City Star, which has seen the tape after obtaining email records through a public information request, reports that Gerber appears to be alone in the footage. It is not known when or where the video was taken, or who the video was intended for.

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"This is just a disturbed individual trying to cause issues with the city,” one of the council's IT employees wrote to staff. Gerber refused to discuss the incident and said: “I think it’s not in the city’s best interest right now to comment."

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In an email exchange with the Kansas City Star, the anonymous sender of the video revealed they wanted to expose Gerber's online behaviour. They said: "We don't hesitate to expose people involved in these dubious and un-Catholic practices."

Doug Gerber, the Shawnee City Council manager, has been placed on leave with pay (KMBC)

During a council meeting on Wednesday, Shawnee City Council President Eric Jenkins revealed he and other council members only found out about the video on Tuesday. The initial video was sent to city employees on September 29.

“If he failed to communicate on this, what else can he fail to communicate on,” Jenkins said, as per KCTV5. “I mean this was kind of the first big test he had, and he didn’t do very well. So, I think our actions [to suspend Gerber] were appropriate, they were measured.”

Gerber was placed on paid leave and an interim replacement is expected to be appointed next week. “I don’t see how this man can move forward being the leader of our staff and our go-to guy as the city manager,” Jenkins added. “And I do say that with trepidation because I thought he was doing really good.”

Council member Angela Stiens also revealed she did not receive the email. Stiens said: 'I've never seen it. I don't know anything about it. From my understanding, [most city employees] didn't even know about it, as well. They found out about it the same way we did — through the Kansas City Star."

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Sam Truelove