A city manager in the United States has been suspended after staffers were sent an email allegedly showing him masturbating on a couch. According to the New York Post, the video showed Kansas City Manager Doug Gerber in a compromising position and now he is expected to be fired. The email was sent to several employees from an anonymous account with the subject line: "MOST IMPORTANT". The video appeared to have been filmed by Mr Gerber himself, who seemed to be alone during the act.
It is unclear who sent the clip and how they got it, the outlet reported. "This is just a disturbed individual trying to cause issues with the city," a city IT employee wrote to staff members in the Kansas City suburb.
However, speaking to the Kansas City Star, the anonymous sender said that they wanted to expose Mr Gerber's online behaviour. "We don't hesitate to expose people involved in these dubious and un-Catholic practices," the sender reportedly said.
Talking about the incident, Shawnee Mayor Michelle Distler said she was "not incredibly surprised" at the scandal because of unspecified concerns over Mr Gerber's behaviour at his previous job. However, according to council president Eric Jenkins, the city manager had been investigated over rumours of previous "impropriety" before he was hired, and the consultant leading the job search assured them that "she thoroughly searched the background and had found absolutely nothing that would give us cause not to select him".
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The Post noted that Mr Gerber could be a victim under a state law forbidding such sexual material from being shared without permission. But the city council in an emergency meeting unanimously voted to put Mr Gerber on administrative leave.
"This email was received at City Hall, we've been told, Sept. 29th. I didn't find out about this situation until Halloween night," just over a month later, said Mr Jenkins, the council president. "If he failed to communicate on this, what else has he failed to communicate on?" Mr Jenkins told KCTV, adding, "I mean, this was kind of the first big test he had, and he didn't do very well. So I think our actions were appropriate, they were measured".
Now, an interim manager is being chosen and Mr Gerber is expected to be fired, said Mr Jenkins. "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," he added.
Additionally, three city council candidates have also issued a joint statement calling for an investigation into Mr Gerber's actions and those of the city council in the month after the video was first shared.
On the other hand, Mr Gerbe has refused to address the scandal. "I think it's not in the city;s best interest right now to comment," he said.
