Pennsylvania officer charged with voluntary manslaughter after shooting student at wrong residence
Upper Pottsgrove Police Corporal Sean Farrell was indicted on a voluntary manslaughter charge for fatally shooting 22-year-old Glenwood Earl Pysher IV, who was unarmed and had mistakenly knocked on the wrong door.
Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele announced Tuesday that Corporal Sean Farrell of the Upper Pottsgrove Police Department faces a voluntary manslaughter charge for the Aug. 23 shooting of 22-year-old Glenwood Earl Pysher IV. The incident occurred after Pysher, who had been drinking at a bar, mistakenly knocked on a home’s back door and was reported as a break-in.
According to a criminal complaint and body-camera footage, Farrell confronted Pysher on a patio, ordered him to raise his hands and lie down, and then fired two shots while Pysher was complying and standing about 17-20 feet away. The complaint notes that Farrell was equipped with a taser and baton but did not use them before drawing his pistol.
Steele said the video shows Pysher with his hands raised, unarmed and not posing a threat, and described the use of lethal force as unlawful. "This is not a legal use of lethal force," Steele said.
Farrell turned himself in to Montgomery County detectives, was released on $75,000 bail and is scheduled for arraignment later Tuesday, with a preliminary hearing set for Sept. 10. Pysher’s family, represented by attorney Ken Fulginiti, thanked the district attorney’s office and called the shooting a tragic, preventable act.