The former police sergeant who had an extra-marital affair with former Nashville Mayor Megan Barry will get a reduced pension, according to Nashville Public Radio.
Members of the Nashville Metro Benefits Board recalculated the earnings for Robert Forrest, who served on the police force for 31 years.
Metro Nashville spokeswoman Tara Stewart told The Tennessee Star Thursday she received our questions seeking comment on the matter. Stewart, however, said she would have not answers before the close of the business day.
Nashville Public Radio elaborated and said board members chose not to move to revoke Forrest’s entire pension, based on his five highest-earning years.
“From that total amount, members subtracted $10,780 in overtime that Forrest improperly earned guarding the mayor,” according to Nashville Public Radio.
“That means a cut of more than $1,000 to Forrest’s annual pension — which will likely end up around $73,000. That’s according to a prior analysis, with slightly different figures, that was run by the Metro Auditor. A final tabulation was not immediately available after the board’s vote.”
Board members made the adjustment retroactive, per city code. Forrest has to return any overpayments since he retired this year, Nashville Public Radio reported.
Barry resigned as Nashville’s mayor earlier this year after admitting to an affair with Forrest, the police officer who ran her security detail.
Barry resigned after she pleaded guilty to a felony theft charge related to the affair. Specifically, she pleaded guilty to theft of property over $10,000. She agreed to reimburse the city $11,000 and serve three years’ probation.
According to The Washington Post, Barry and Forrest began an affair in mid-2016. Barry said the affair ended before she confessed it to the public. Forrest resigned from the department.
According to The Tennessean, Forrest and Barry traveled to Paris, Athens, Washington, New York, Denver, Oakland and other cities.
Forrest racked up around $33,000 in expenses for the trips and more than $50,000 in overtime in 2017 on top of an $84,500 salary, The Tennessean reported.
Barry traveled alone with Forrest on nine of the trips, including one to Greece, according to The Washington Post.
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Chris Butler is an investigative journalist at The Tennessee Star. Follow Chris on Facebook. Email tips to [email protected].
