Shawnee fires city manager for not disclosing staff received his sexually explicit video
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The Shawnee City Council fired City Manager Doug Gerber on Monday because he failed to disclose that several employees had received an email with a sexually explicit video of him masturbating.
The council voted to terminate Gerber’s contract for cause, in a voice vote with no opposition. Gerber has held the top leadership position since March with a $190,000 annual salary, plus perks. Gerber’s contract states his termination with cause does not require the city to pay severance.
Gerber had been on paid leave since the start of this month.
“We will have closure soon with City Manger Gerber, and we will move forward and find someone to lead this organization better very soon,” Councilman Kurt Knappen told The Star in a recent email. “I would ask the public to be patient while we figure this out and select the right person. We will stabilize things in Shawnee and get things on the right path, and I am committed to ensuring this happens.”
Monday night was the third time the council has met in closed session to discuss Gerber’s employment after learning of the graphic video that has roiled City Hall since it was received by employees more than a month ago. Council members agreed that Gerber had an obligation to inform them that several employees were sent the video attached to an email from an outside account.
Gerber answers to the City Council.
Gerber did not personally send the video to employees. It was emailed to some staff on Sept. 29 by an anonymous third party who, in recent emails with The Star, said they wanted to reveal Gerber’s online behavior.
Gerber could claim victim status under a state law that says it’s illegal to disseminate videos and photos of an identifiable person engaging in sexual activity without consent.
A spokesman with the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office told The Star in an email that, “we would not identify whether or not someone requested an investigation or if an individual was a victim in a current investigation.”
But Gerber’s wife, Michele, reportedly told The Shawnee Mission Post in an email that the sheriff’s office is investigating the incident, which she characterized as a “criminal scam.”
Michele Gerber did not respond to The Star’s request for comment last week.
Earlier this month, a few council members called for a special meeting one day after The Star filed a Kansas Open Records Act request of emails related to the incident and any subsequent investigations. The Star’s request is how multiple council members and the mayor said they learned of the incident a month after it happened.
“While an extremely unfortunate result, we were left with no choice, as once the video was disseminated to city servers, Mr. Gerber had an obligation to inform us of its existence,” Councilwoman Tammy Thomas said in a previous statement. “He chose not to, leading the council to learn about it through other means a full month later. This is inexcusable.”
The city subsequently denied The Star’s request to view the records, saying it is a personnel matter.
At that meeting, the council placed Gerber on paid leave. And during another special meeting last week, the council appointed Public Works Director Doug Whitacre to serve as interim city manager.
It is unclear when or where the video was taken. Gerber has declined to provide details about how it came about, telling The Star at City Hall earlier this month, “I think it’s not in the city’s best interest right now to comment.”
After the video was emailed, a Shawnee information technology employee sent a staff-wide email, obtained by The Star, saying the message had gotten through the city’s email filter because it was a standard video file from a generic outside account. The account was blocked. The staff-wide email said the video was sent by a “disturbed individual trying to cause issues with the city.
The Star’s Eric Adler contributed to this report.
