A Pennsylvania police officer has been charged with voluntary manslaughter after fatally shooting a 22-year-old college student who had mistakenly arrived at the wrong house and was waiting for friends to retrieve him.
Upper Pottsgrove Police Cpl. Sean Farrell, 58, turned himself in to Montgomery County Detectives on Tuesday, authorities said. Magisterial District Judge Kathleen Rebar set his bail at $75,000 and ordered him to surrender all weapons to state police as a condition of release. His preliminary hearing is scheduled for Sept. 10.
Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele announced the charge in the Aug. 23 death of Glenwood Earl Pysher IV, a college athlete. Steele said the investigation determined Farrell had less-than-lethal options available and did not need to resort to deadly force during the encounter.
“The investigation found that Cpl. Farrell had less-than-lethal options on his utility belt that he did not employ, including a taser,” Steele said in a news release. “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.”
The Montgomery County Detective Bureau investigated the shooting and reviewed footage from Farrell’s body-worn camera, the district attorney’s office said.
According to the investigation, Pysher had been out at several bars earlier that evening celebrating a friend’s 21st birthday. A designated driver brought the group to the birthday friend’s home around 11 p.m. Pysher left about 30 minutes later, intending to walk half a mile to another friend’s house to continue drinking, but he ended up at the wrong residence instead.
Pysher’s father, Glen Pysher, said last week that his son tried to enter what he believed was his friend’s house. “He tried to open the doorknob and obviously startled the homeowner,” the elder Pysher said. “From what we understand, he announced, ‘Hey! Open the door!’ because he thought he was at his friend’s house.”
His son then sat down on the back porch and contacted his friends, who realized he was in the wrong place and set out to find him, Glen Pysher added.
Farrell was the first officer to respond after a resident called 911 to report someone attempting to break into the back door. Body-worn camera footage showed Farrell walking down the driveway with his gun drawn, using its light to illuminate the path, according to the district attorney’s release.
Standing behind a car in the driveway, Farrell spotted Pysher on the home’s patio near the back door. The officer yelled, “Police, let me see your hands.” He then shouted, “Hands up, hands up now, drop to the ground.”
Pysher is seen on video raising his hands and beginning to walk toward the officer, continuing in that direction as Farrell yelled, “Drop to the ground,” the release stated. Farrell again commanded, “Drop to the ground,” then yelled, “Stop or I’ll…” But before completing the sentence, he fired two shots, striking Pysher twice in the chest. Pysher was 17 to 20 feet from the officer when he was shot.
Attorney Ken Fulginiti, representing Pysher’s family, issued a statement thanking the prosecutor for pursuing charges. “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 remains free on bail pending his preliminary hearing in district court.