Arrested voluntary professor remains faculty member

A USF volunteer faculty member, who was arrested for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon Thursday, remains a non-compensated associate professor, said USF spokesman Michael Hoad.

South Tampa Psychiatrist Dr. James Roy Edgar, 64, who has volunteered at USF for nearly 30 years, was arrested for allegedly pointing a shotgun at a pool service man outside his home on June 9, police reports say.

Edgar is listed in the University’s online campus directory as an associate professor in Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine. He also has a campus mailstop in the College of Psychiatry.

However, the University does not pay Edgar, Hoad said, and is not liable for what he does. USF Health spokeswoman Anne DeLotto Baier said physicians and doctors get courtesy titles as clinically appointed voluntary professors.

“Clinical professors” are required to serve 24 hours a year at the University, sometimes giving a lecture or allowing a student to shadow them at their practice, Baier said.

According to a police report, Stephen Lafoe, a 35-year-old Bay Area Pool Service employee, said he was responding to a work order in Edgar’s neighborhood when the incident occurred.

Lafoe told police that he was taking notes and typing an address into a GPS while parked in a neighborhood alley. Edgar then came outside his home, which was located on the south side of the alley, and began complaining that he had told the pool company not to park in the driveway.

“Lafoe stated that he continued to program his GPS, and (Edgar) went into the garage and came out with a shotgun,” the report said. “(Edgar) pointed the shotgun at the victim and said I told you to move.”

Lafoe said he then left and called police, according to the report. After meeting Lafoe at a gas station, police officer Marcelino Garcia interviewed Edgar, who confirmed he had a confrontation with Lafoe.

Edgar told Garcia he only got the gun out of his garage when Lafoe, who he said was parked in his private town-home driveway, “mouthed off” at him. He said he didn’t point the gun at Lafoe. He just wanted him to leave his property.

Edgar, who could not be reached for comment Monday, was released from Orient Road Jail on $2,000 bond.

USF’s Human Resources department confirmed Edgar as “active” on Friday. Hoad said the University could remove the courtesy title if Edgar is convicted.