Pennsylvania police officer charged with voluntary manslaughter in killing of college student

Pennsylvania Police Officer Charged in Fatal Student Shooting

Healfromzero.com – A Pennsylvania police officer charged with voluntary manslaughter after a college student was fatally shot at the wrong house late on an August evening. Glenwood Earl Pysher IV, 22, had wandered to a neighboring residence while waiting for friends to drive him home. Upper Pottsgrove Police Corporal Sean Farrell, 58, fired twice into Pysher’s chest before Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele announced the formal charge on Tuesday, more than a week after the August 23 incident.

How the Shooting Unfolded

A homeowner dialed 911 to report someone trying to force the back door. Farrell was the first unit on scene. Body-worn camera footage shows him advancing down the driveway with his sidearm drawn, its built-in light slicing through the dark. From behind a parked vehicle he spotted Pysher on the patio near the rear entrance.

The officer issued commands that escalated quickly — first “Police, let me see your hands,” then “Hands up, hands up now, drop to the ground.” Pysher lifted both arms and began walking toward Farrell. The officer repeated the command to drop. Pysher kept moving. Farrell shouted, “Stop or I’ll…” and discharged his weapon twice before finishing the sentence. Both rounds hit Pysher in the chest.

At the moment of the shots, the district attorney’s office confirmed, Pysher stood roughly 17 to 20 feet away, sheltered behind a car, with his hands overhead and no weapon in either hand.

Why Prosecutors Pursued a Felony Charge

Steele’s office stressed that Farrell carried non-lethal tools on his utility belt — including a taser — and chose not to deploy them. The decision to file a voluntary-manslaughter count, which carries a maximum ten-year state-prison sentence in Pennsylvania, followed a full review by the Montgomery County Detective Bureau of the body-cam video and all other collected evidence.

“The investigation found that Cpl. Farrell had less-than-lethal options on his utility belt that he did not employ, including a taser. At the time of the shooting, the officer was a safe distance from Pysher behind a car, and the victim had his hands in the air and did not possess any type of weapon. Mr. Pysher was not a threat. This is not a legal use of deadly force, leading to the charge of Voluntary Manslaughter.” — Montgomery County DA’s office

The rationale places the case squarely within Pennsylvania’s long-standing standard: deadly force is lawful only when an officer reasonably believes it is necessary to prevent imminent death or serious bodily injury. A person twenty feet distant, hands raised, unarmed, generally does not satisfy that threshold — regardless of how the officer subjectively perceived the moment.

Family Reaction and Broader Context

Ken Fulginiti, attorney for Pysher’s family, thanked the prosecutor’s office and described the death as 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.” — Ken Fulginiti

Upper Pottsgrove is a small borough in Montgomery County, roughly 40 miles southwest of Philadelphia, whose police department operates with a modest budget and a limited number of sworn officers. Each use-of-force decision there draws close community scrutiny, and the public availability of body-cam footage has made it increasingly common for victims’ families to seek criminal accountability rather than rely solely on civil litigation.

Frequently Asked Questions

What charge was filed and what does it mean? Corporal Farrell faces voluntary manslaughter, a first-degree misdemeanor-adjacent felony in Pennsylvania that requires prosecutors to show the killing was intentional but occurred under circumstances lowering culpability below first-degree murder. The statutory maximum is ten years in state prison.

What was the victim doing at the wrong address? Pysher, a 22-year-old college student, had gone to a neighboring home while waiting for friends to pick him up. He was not a resident of the house where the shooting occurred.

What evidence supported the charge? The Montgomery County Detective Bureau reviewed Farrell’s body-worn camera video along with other investigative material. Key factors included the distance between officer and victim, Pysher’s raised hands, the absence of a weapon, and the officer’s failure to use available non-lethal tools.

When did the incident happen? The shooting took place on the evening of August 23. The district attorney’s office announced the charge publicly the following Tuesday.