On the clock: A mayor, her bodyguard and late nights in Nashville

Super Bowl Sunday at the mayor’s house. Loretta Lynn and Jason Isbell concerts at the Ryman. Late-night dinner at a posh Gulch seafood restaurant. An evening at Brad Paisley’s home.

Mayor Megan Barry’s official calendar included these engagements, and many more, during 2017. Often at her side was Sgt. Rob Forrest, the former police bodyguard with whom she had an affair starting in spring 2016.

Out-of-state trips have been a focus of the scandal involving Barry and Forrest. But a USA TODAY NETWORK - Tennessee review of Forrest’s schedule and Barry’s calendar for 2017 shows Forrest racked up hundreds of hours of overtime in Nashville, escorting the mayor to hot yoga classes and hockey games, late-night concerts and trendy restaurants.

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The review found, in some instances, there were no events on Barry’s calendar during times Forrest earned overtime pay.

That includes dozens of overtime hours Forrest accrued after Barry’s calendar showed the mayor had finished events for the day, prompting Forrest in some instances to remain on duty until midnight or later.

While an imperfect account, Barry’s official work calendar — a public record — provides the clearest available window into her time with Forrest. A schedule is only a guide, and any number of meetings, appointments or events could change on a moment’s notice.

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Barry’s spokesman Sean Braisted emphasized the fluidity of her actual daily happenings.

“The mayor’s schedule represents anticipated events or activities during the day, with approximated timings,” he said. “We do not alter the schedule after the fact if an event runs over the allotted time in the schedule. If events, meetings, or office hours are added during the course of the day, they are not always reflected in the mayor’s calendar.”

Barry has repeatedly said she and Forrest did not engage in their affair while working. But on Friday Braisted said the mayor’s office does not track the hours of her security detail, raising questions about how Barry would know whether Forrest was on the clock at any given moment.

The overtime records and schedule help illustrate how Forrest earned more than $170,000 in overtime escorting Barry since the start of her tenure in September 2015.

One year: 205 days of overtime

Since announcing the affair, Barry has repeatedly said she welcomes any investigation and would cooperate with any inquiry. She said anyone could look at city records of travel, pay and expenses.

A review of those records shows Forrest earned overtime on 205 days in 2017, mainly covering hours on nights and weekends. As head of mayoral security, Forrest was responsible for scheduling all members of the mayor’s security team.

Forrest typically worked a shift that ran from 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., but he would often clock back in at 3:30 p.m. to work until the mayor’s last appointment ended.

Four other Nashville police officers have worked on mayoral security during Barry's tenure. One has worked full-time on the detail during Barry's entire time in office, while two others were full-time for a span of months. The fourth worked part-time on the detail as needed during 2017 and became full-time in January 2018.

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Asked why shifts among members of the security detail couldn't be staggered to avoid overtime, a spokesman for the Metro Nashville Police Department said scheduling was entirely up to Forrest — who had served as the detail's supervisors spanning back two previous mayoral administrations.

Members of the detail electronically submitted their overtime hours through the chain of command at the Specialized Investigations Division, and were subject to minimal day-to-day supervision compared to other officers, given the nature of the assignment, the spokesman said, adding that the "overtime has been perceived to reflect the schedule and the security work they performed."

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The USA TODAY NETWORK – Tennessee analysis found numerous instances in which Forrest, working overtime hours, remained on the clock hours after the end of the last event of the mayor’s day, and often late into the night.

He also accompanied Barry on numerous personal appointments on weekends, including regular stops at Hot Yoga Plus on Elliston Place.

Records show Forrest received overtime on at least 24 days during the mayor’s yoga classes. A manager at Hot Yoga Plus said security did not accompany the mayor inside the second-floor yoga studio. Braisted said Forrest would have dropped off the mayor and picked her up.

From 2:30-7 p.m. on March 10, Barry’s calendar lists one event: a private appointment from 6-7 p.m. Although this was her last meeting scheduled that Friday night, records show Forrest didn’t clock out until 10 p.m., earning 6.5 hours of overtime pay.

Braisted said the mayor would give her security detail a night off “when it is a personal event with friends, especially on the weekend that doesn’t involve business before or after.”

But Forrest received more than $500 in overtime on one weekend day in April, when he and at least one other officer drove Barry and her sisters to department stores, a concert and late-night drinks.

On that day, Barry had two half-hour events scheduled: Kids and Kites Day at Bicentennial Park and the 34th annual Kids Are Special Too Easter Egg Hunt.

After the Easter Egg hunt, attended by Barry’s sister, Braisted said the women went to Warby Parker and Dillard’s. They were driven to dinner at a cafe before they attended a Loretta Lynn concert at Ryman Auditorium. After the concert, Barry and her sisters had drinks and food at the Marsh House, before security dropped them at the mayor’s home, Braisted said.

Forrest didn’t end his day until 1 a.m., earning 13.5 hours in overtime. Another bodyguard also earned overtime that day, working from 7:30 p.m. to 1 a.m.

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Two months earlier, Barry invited Forrest and two other officers to watch the Super Bowl and eat chili at her house, according to records of Barry’s text messages. On Feb. 5, Forrest clocked in at 5 p.m. and noted he worked four hours, all on overtime pay because it was Sunday. The game started at 5:30.

Braisted said the mayor’s office doesn’t condone overtime for some events.

“In the example of the Super Bowl party, members of the detail were invited to the party in their personal capacity and it would have been inappropriate for them to log overtime if they attended,” he said.

Officer Mike Dixon, another member of the security detail, also received overtime that day, but not starting until 6:30 p.m. The officers escorted the mayor to Nashville International Airport where, according to her schedule, she spoke during a welcoming party for Kurdish immigrants from 7:45 to 8:30 p.m.

Barry initially defended Forrest’s overtime, saying she has an aggressive policy agenda and her schedule reflects that. But records show the Loretta Lynn concert was one of many events where Forrest received overtime as the mayor immersed herself in Nashville’s entertainment scene.

Hobnobbing, hockey and Bonnaroo

Barry’s elevation to the mayor’s office in 2015 paralleled Nashville’s rapidly ascending national profile.

Her 2017 schedule reflects that status, including dinners with celebrities, regular appearances at Predators' games, concerts, trendy bars and restaurants. Forrest often accompanied her, usually earning overtime.

After cocktails at Trattoria il Mulino, a high-end Italian restaurant inside the Hilton Nashville Downtown, Barry attended a Tom Petty concert on April 25 at Bridgestone Arena, according to her calendar. Slated to run until 10:30 p.m., Forrest capped off 7.5 hours of overtime that day when he clocked out at 11 p.m.

Eleven hours later, Barry stood outside Bridgestone to deliver the State of Metro, the annual speech by Nashville’s mayor.

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On May 9, Barry joined Connie Britton, an actress on the “Nashville” television series, for dinner at Gray & Dudley, a Second Avenue bar, restaurant and art gallery that serves retro cocktails and locally sourced meats. Dinner started at 6, according to the mayor’s calendar. It’s unknown when it ended. Forrest clocked out at 10:30 p.m., receiving 7 hours of overtime.

Britton was also the main draw of a February night event where Forrest earned more overtime. After Barry spoke at two late-afternoon gatherings, the mayor’s calendar on Feb. 23 ended at country star Brad Paisley’s Franklin home.

The group was scheduled to gather from 8 to 9:30 p.m. to watch the last episode in which Britton’s character appeared in the “Nashville” television show, Braisted said. Paisley’s wife, Kimberly Williams-Paisley, previously appeared on the show.

Forrest ended work at 11 p.m., according to police overtime records. He may have been in Paisley’s house throughout the event, but Braisted said the mayor couldn’t remember.

“Typically, if security detail would accompany the mayor for a dinner, they would have a separate table or sit at the bar to eat. Or, they might wait in the car. There were occasions where detail would sit with the mayor at her table. This is true for all members of the detail,” Braisted said.

On the mayor's calendar for June 9, Barry had dinner at Thai Esane. She needed to leave the 12th Avenue South restaurant in time to make it before 10 p.m. to Bonnaroo. That evening, the band U2 headlined the outdoor musical festival in Manchester.

Barry’s schedule doesn’t say whether anyone else besides Forrest was with them at dinner or the late-night concert. Forrest’s timesheet shows he ended work at 2:30 a.m.

Two days later, a photograph of a Stanley Cup Finals game shows Forrest standing next to Barry in Bridgestone Arena as they watched the Pittsburgh Penguins defeat the Predators 2-0. After the game, Barry's calendar lists CMA Fest, an annual country music festival held in Nashville, from 8-11 p.m. Forrest clocked out at 11:30 p.m., earning 6.5 hours of overtime.

Don Aaron, a spokesman for Metro police, said that Forrest was a point person and supervisor for the mayoral security detail, arranging all the scheduling.

“In that assignment, they would either be in the field advancing a location, in the Mayor’s Office during the mayor’s office hours, or with the mayor during the fulfillment of the schedule outside the office,” Aaron said.

Aaron said it was possible Forrest could have been working on other police obligations during times he received overtime.

“In addition to required in-service training at the academy, officers are required to watch training and policy update videos, which he could have done on a computer in the Mayor’s Office,” Aaron said.

“Additionally, he was a supervisor in the areas of hate crimes investigations, celebrity stalkers, security for visiting dignitaries such as the President and other heads of state, and the Crime Stoppers Program.”

Mayor denies violating any policies, says she welcomes review of records

Barry admitted to the affair on Jan. 31, saying she was embarrassed and sorry, but she denied violating any laws or city policies.

The admission kicked off a litany of state and local investigations. Documents provided by the mayor’s office about her travel — part of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation’s inquiry — show Barry brought Forrest as the only city employee on 10 trips after the pair’s affair began in spring 2016. Barry acknowledged extending three trips a combined four days beyond what was needed to attend the conference or event that necessitated the trip.

Affidavits and search warrants filed by the TBI Thursday revealed the investigation found at least two photos of a nude or partially nude woman taken by Forrest. Investigators believe Forrest took the photos during times when Barry and Forrest were on trips and purportedly working, according to the documents.

Barry denies any knowledge of the photographs, saying if they do exist they were taken without her knowledge or consent. Forrest, through his attorney, has repeatedly declined to comment.



