Pennsylvania officer charged with voluntary manslaughter in college student's death
Upper Pottsgrove Police Corporal Sean Farrell was indicted on a voluntary manslaughter charge after a body-camera video showed him shooting unarmed 22-year-old Glenwood Earl Pysher IV, who was on a porch with his hands raised.
A Montgomery County district attorney charged Upper Pottsgrove Police Corporal Sean Farrell with voluntary manslaughter after a body-camera video captured him firing two shots at 22-year-old Glenwood Earl Pysher IV on a suburban patio. The incident occurred late Tuesday night when officers responded to a 911 call about a possible break-in.
According to the video, Farrell ordered the man to drop to the ground and, while the victim kept his hands raised, the officer shouted, “Stop or I’ll …” before discharging his weapon, striking Pysher twice in the chest. The victim was unarmed and stood about 17 to 20 feet from the officer.
Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele said Farrell had less-than-lethal tools, including a taser, on his belt that were not used, and that the shooting was not a legal use of deadly force. > “The investigation found that Cpl. Farrell had less-than-lethal options on his utility belt that he did not employ, including a taser… This is not a legal use of deadly force, leading to the charge of voluntary manslaughter,” Steele said.
Pysher’s family attorney Ken Fulginiti thanked prosecutors and called the incident “horribly tragic, preventable and reckless.” > “The family is grateful for the work of the Montgomery County District Attorney’s office and they are looking forward to justice in this horribly tragic, preventable and reckless conduct that took the life of their son,” Fulginiti said.
Farrell turned himself in on Tuesday, was released on $75,000 bail, and must surrender all weapons to state police. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Sept. 10. The investigation found Pysher had been celebrating a friend’s birthday, left a designated-driver-drop-off around 11 p.m., and mistakenly entered the wrong house, where he was later confronted by the homeowner.
National data compiled by a criminal-justice professor shows that, since 2005, 218 on-duty officers have faced murder or manslaughter charges in fatal shootings, with 78 convictions. In Pennsylvania, ten officers have been charged in that period, six of whom were convicted.