A UF employee standing at the edge of the roof of the Dental Tower was talked down by University Police on Tuesday afternoon.
The man, a 39-year-old employee with UF's Physical Plant Division, was brought to the emergency room at Shands at UF, UPD spokesman Capt. Jeff Holcomb said. He was referred to Meridian Behavioral Healthcare.
Holcomb said police did not know if the man intended to jump off the building, near Archer Road and Center Drive, but he appeared in danger of falling several times.
Police responded to a call from employees at Shands at about 3:45 p.m.
Officers spent about half an hour talking to the man before he came down from outside the railing on the southeast corner of the roof, Holcomb said. He said the door to the roof is usually locked, but the man may have gotten the keys through his job.
Samantha Richardson, a Gainesville resident, said she was waiting for the bus when another woman pointed out the man on the roof. A group of about 50 gathered to watch and pray, Richardson said.
"It was scary," she said. "Something you'd see in a movie."
Sam Brill, an audio-visual specialist at the dental school, said there was little disruption in the building. He said he heard rumors that someone was on the roof but didn't go out.
"It was just hallway chatter," Brill said.
Holcomb said traffic was delayed when Gainesville Fire Rescue trucks that responded to the scene blocked a westbound lane on Archer Road for more than an hour.
