KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kansas City, Missouri, City Manager Brian Platt was suspended from his job today, according to a letter sent to Platt by Mayor Quinton Lucas.
Watch KSHB 41's Kevin Holmes break down the news of Platt's suspension.
The suspension comes one day after a jury awarded former City Communication Director Chris Hernandez nearly $1 million in a civil suit against the city.
Hernandez stated in the lawsuit that in a January 3, 2022, meeting with Platt, Assistant City Manager Melissa Kozakiewicz, and members of the city communications staff, Platt asked, "Why can't we just lie to the media?"
The suit stated Hernandez told Platt, "That's not a good idea. We shouldn't do that."
Platt's reply, according to the suit, was "Why not? In Jersey (where Platt worked before coming to KCMO), we had a mayor who would just make up numbers on the fly from the podium, and no reporters ever called him on it."
Hernandez, after his relationship with Platt soured, was demoted on Aug. 4, 2022, transferred, and removed from his management role, according to the lawsuit. Platt told Hernandez the assistant city manager shared his vision and Hernadez did not, according to the lawsuit.
The full letter from Lucas to Platt reads below:
"Dear Mr. Platt,
Pursuant to the provisions of Section 218(e) of the City Charter of the City of Kansas City, and in consultation with my City Council colleagues, I write to inform you that you have been suspended with pay from your position as City Manager, effective immediately.
Consistent with the City Charter, the City Council will ratify or reject this determination or take other action at its next scheduled meeting on Thursday, March 20, 2025. Within one day of the meeting you will be provided with notification of the City Council’s action. Until such time and as directed by the Charter, I am temporarily appointing Deputy City Manager Kimiko Gilmore as Interim City Manager of the City of Kansas City."
Platt's contract runs through 2027.
He was hired by the city in 2020.
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