KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) - On Friday, the trial continued in the case alleging that Kansas City City Manager Brian Platt suggested staff lie to the media in 2022. The former Media Relations Manager and the Plaintiff, Chris Hernandez, are among those who took the stand on day four of testimony.

A jury is hearing the case involving a lawsuit filed by the city’s former communications director, Chris Hernandez, against the city in 2022.

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.

Maggie Green, the former Media Relations Manager, said that she reported to Chris Hernandez but also worked closely with Assistant City Manager Melissa Kozakiewicz and Platt.

Green testified that it was a difficult time when the city consolidated all communications from different departments to one central communications team. She said morale was low.

Green said she created an internal policy directing staff on social media practices. She also created a project management calendar so everyone would know what was expected.

But she said under Platt, it was hard to determine what the goals were. She appeared emotional when she told the court, “It just never felt like it was enough.”

Green was also asked about that January 3, 2022 meeting where the lawsuit claimed Platt suggested lying to the media. The lawsuit claimed that Platt specifically asked, “Why can’t we just lie to the media?”

The lawsuit claimed, and Green testified in the case, that Platt told a story that in Jersey (his previous job), they had a mayor who would just make up numbers on the fly, and no reporters ever called him on it.

Green testified that it was her understanding that it was “kind of the direction” that Platt wanted them to go.

When asked if she believed Platt was serious, she said it was her understanding that it was a serious conversation. Green testified that Hernandez told Platt, “We can’t do that.” There was a tiny bit of back and forth, and the conversation moved on.

When asked by an attorney about how she felt after the exchange, Green said, “I felt pressure because I was the media relations manager—conflict, pressure. What did that mean for me, and how was I going to handle it?”

Green was also questioned about the discrepancy in the goal of Public Works and the number of lane miles that they hoped to resurface in the Summer of 2022.

The communications team worked weeks ahead on new releases and social media posts, using 300 miles as the goal. Green testified that she got that information from the Public Works Department. But Platt put out a tweet on his personal account using 400 miles as the goal.

“I remember the city manager tweeting a number that got us all freaked out,” Green testified. Green said she was concerned about having two different numbers out.

“What I remember is this tweet would have gone out, which gave Chris and I a heart attack,” said Green. “We had been prepping these numbers for the press event knowing what I got from Public Works.”

Green finished up her testimony relating what happened when an extended article on the city’s response to potholes was published in a Sunday edition of the Kansas City Star.

Platt was frustrated when the article was published. He thought it needed corrections.

Green testified that she had worked on that story with the Star reporters for several weeks but conceded that she could not control what was ultimately written. She said she was “terrified” that she was going to lose her job and was very nervous about the meeting.

Green said she was “lectured” during the meeting, but she had contacted the Star asking for clarifications.

Green resigned from the city shortly after the incident to take a new position in the private sector, citing family concerns and work-life balance.

Three witnesses testified in the afternoon..

The first was Tim Riley, a vocational and employment expert. He testified that he reviewed Hernandez’s qualifications and believed he was qualified for a number of positions in Marketing and Communications. He also said the job market in Kansas City was favorable for someone with Hernandez’s qualifications and experience.

Doug Jones, the former Kansas City Chief Auditor, took the stand as well.

He spoke about an audit that was done in 2024 to 2025 about ethics in the city. Jones said it found that Platt had not established ethics training since becoming City Manager.

After the audit was finished, Platt shared that he was frustrated with the results. Platt said the findings could be more of a perception of the employees, and it is unclear if they have a consistent definition of ethics and if there is any actual wrongdoing out of the audit.

After the report, the ethics handbook was set to be revised, updated, and distributed. Jones was unsure if that had happened since he left before the report on the progress was due.

With less than an hour left in the day, the plaintiff, Chris Hernandez, took the stand.

Hernandez was the City’s Communications Director for nine years. First under Troy Schulte and then in 2020, under Brian Platt.

Shortly after Platt arrived in Kansas City, he had a plan to centralize all the communications from city departments under one team.

Hernandez testified that he was supportive of the plan but told Platt that it might take a while to get it done. Different departments used different software, and some department directors were unhappy about losing someone from their department.

Hernandez said he shared the issues with plant because he didn’t want him to be taken by surprise.

He testified that he worked on trying to make everyone coming into the centralized department as happy as they could be and did team-building activities to bring the department together.

Hernandez believed he was meeting Platt’s expectations.

Testimony continues Monday, when Hernandez will be back on the stand.