Testimony in whistleblower suit against city wraps up

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) - The defense rested its case late today in the whistleblower lawsuit former City Communications Director Chris Hernandez filed against the city more than two years ago.

Six witnesses for the defense took the stand today, including Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas.

The lawsuit accuses City Manager Brian Platt of intentionally lying and exaggerating to the media and the public. Hernandez claims in the suit that he was demoted and transferred to another department when he pushed back against Platt’s policy.

Lucas testified that he knew Hernandez from the time he was elected to the city council. Lucas said that in general, council members were not included in press events the communications department organized and he thought they should be.

When Lucas became mayor, he had his own communications team, but testified that his office didn’t get support from the city’s communications team.

Lucas testified that during the COVID-19 pandemic, his office and the health department “were on our own.” When asked if the city’s communications team was offering assistance, Lucas replied, “not that I recall.”

Lucas went on to say that during the “George Floyd era” he was hosting daily press availability and that “Chris’ office did not go.”

Lucas also testified that the city’s communications team was responsibly for handling the city’s sunshine requests, and he was unsatisfied with the response.

“Some got lost or delayed,” said Lucas.

He said the mishandling led to an article in the Kansas City Star about secrecy at city hall, “That comes back on me.”

He testified that he thought the city needed more story telling on social media, and needed to more effective in media relations. Lucas wanted the city’s media tam to include more city workers and suggest more proactive stories.

When asked if he ever expressed his concerns to the city manager, Lucas said that he has conversations with the city manager, and would occasionally send an email, but he never named any individuals.

Lucas was asked if he supported the decision to remove Hernandez from his position as director of communications.

“I did support it,” Lucas responded.

Michael Shaw, director of public works, testified about the discrepancy in the number of miles the city planned to resurface that went out in new releases and social media in 2022.

A news release said the city planned to resurface 300 miles, but in a tweet City Manager Platt put out on his personal account, he wrote that the goal was 400+ miles.

Platt said the Public Works director told him he expected the city could do the 400 miles, so he went with that.

Shaw testified that he did tell the communications team the goal was 300, because he said he’d rather “over deliver,” but he did admit to telling Platt that he expected to do many more than that.

On the stand last week, Platt said he was frustrated with Hernandez asking him about the tweet and said the 400+ was a goal and they were setting expectations. The City’s attorney confirmed they did end up paving over 400 that year.

Sherae Honeycutt testified that she worked with Chris Hernandez for about four weeks before he left the department.

Honeycutt was hired as the PIO for Public Works which is within the city’s Communications Department. She testified that she didn’t receive any guidance on writing press releases, and that the “branding was confusing.”

She testified that she did not receive guidance from Hernandez during her first weeks in the department and that he left shortly after.

The defense called three expert witnesses in the afternoon.

Eric Morgenstern is an expert in strategic communications. He was asked by the city to provide his opinion on some aspects of the case. He testified that highlighting the city and its accomplishments is very important.

“Do good and get caught,” helps the city’s image.

Morgenstern advised that it was “essential” to track results and build a communications strategy to effectively tell a story.

He testified that he did not see what he would consider a “communication strategy” in the materials and that both Public Relations and Public Information are critical to a communications strategy.

Courtney Christensen was called by the city as an expert witness on ethics.

She testified that she didn’t believe Platt violated any ethics guidelines, but he did not directly tell his staff to lie to the media. She also testified that the 400+ miles Platt put in his tweet was not a violation, because it was a “plan, not a promise.”

The final witness, Eric Frye, is a financial consultant. He testified that the amount Hernandez’ lawyers said he lost by being forced to take early retirement was close, but he came up with a slightly different, lower amount.

Final arguments are scheduled for Monday, then the case goes to the jury.

Copyright 2025 KCTV. All rights reserved.