The former director of communications for Kansas City government on Wednesday won a whistleblower lawsuit he brought against the city in which he alleged he was forced out of his job because he resisted City Manager Brian Platt’s suggestions that it would be ok for city officials to lie to the news media.
Platt denied doing so during testimony last week.
But a Jackson County jury believed Hernandez instead. In a unanimous verdict, jurors recommended on Wednesday evening that former communications director Chris Hernandez receive a total of $928,829 in damages.
Of that, $228,828 was due to his demotion from the communications job he’d held for nine years after a long career as a television news reporter. And the jury awarded him $700,000 because Hernandez felt he had no other choice but to retire early from the city at age 58 a year after his demotion because he had transferred to another city job with far fewer responsibilities and no chance for advancement.
Hernandez filed his lawsuit in the fall of 2022. He retired from the city at the end of September 2023.
The eight-day trial began last Monday and included testimony from a number of current and former city officials, including Mayor Quinton Lucas., who supported Platt’s decision to move Hernandez out of the communications job and replace him with someone who would be more loyal to Platt’s vision.
“This is a victory for the truth and transparency that Kansas City residents deserve,” Hernandez said in a written statement...
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