Pennsylvania police officer charged with voluntary manslaughter in
killing of college student
[September 02, 2026]
By TASSANEE VEJPONGSA and KATE BRUMBACK
NORRISTOWN, Pa. (AP) — A Pennsylvania police officer was charged Tuesday
with voluntary manslaughter for last week’s fatal shooting of a college
student who was looking for his friends late at night and went to the
wrong house.
Police body camera video reviewed by investigators shows the officer
yelled “Drop to the ground,” then “Stop or I’ll... .” Before he finished
the sentence, he fired two shots at the man who was unarmed and had his
hands in the air. He hit 22-year-old Glenwood Earl Pysher IV twice in
the chest, killing him.
The officer, Upper Pottsgrove Police Cpl. Sean Farrell, had
less-than-lethal options and did not need to resort to shooting Pysher,
Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele said at a news
conference.
“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,” Steele
said in a news release.
An attorney for Pysher's family issued a statement thanking the
prosecutor.
“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,” said attorney Ken Fulginiti.
Farrell turned himself in to the Montgomery County Detectives on
Tuesday. Magisterial District Judge Kathleen Rebar set bail at $75,000,
and Farrell must turn in all weapons to the state police as a condition
of his release, a spokesperson for the district attorney's office said.
He has a preliminary hearing set for Sept. 10.
Officer responds to 911 call
Farrell was the first officer on the scene after a resident called 911
to report someone trying to break into the back door of a home.
Farrell’s body-worn camera showed the officer walking down the driveway
with his gun drawn, using its light to illuminate the way, the release
says.
Standing behind a car in the driveway, Farrell saw Pysher on the home’s
patio, near the back door. Farrell yelled, “Police, let me see your
hands.” Then he yelled, “Hands up, hands up now, drop to the ground.”
Pysher is seen on video raising his hands as he began walking toward the
officer and continuing to walk in that direction as the officer yelled,
“Drop to the ground,” the release said. Farrell again yelled, “Drop to
the ground,” then yelled, “Stop or I'll …” But before he finished the
sentence, Farrell fired two shots, hitting Pysher twice in the chest,
the district attorney's office said.
Pysher was 17 to 20 feet (5 to 6 meters) from the officer when he was
shot, the release says.
Farrell told another officer who arrived after the shooting that Pysher
had charged him, “screaming and yelling and wouldn't get down on the
ground,” but the body-worn camera video doesn't show that happening,
according to an affidavit filed with the criminal complaint.
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Glenwood Pysher III, watches as pallbearers carry a casket
containing the remains of his son Glenwood "Bubba" Pysher IV who was
killed by police, in Pottstown, Pa., Monday, Aug. 31, 2026. (AP
Photo/Matt Rourke)
Pysher's father believes son thought he was at a friend's house
The investigation found that Pysher had been out at several bars
earlier in the evening to celebrate a friend's 21st birthday. A
designated driver drove the group to the home of the person whose
birthday it was around 11 p.m., and Pysher left about half an hour
later to walk half a mile to another friend's house to keep drinking
but ended up at the wrong house, the release says.
Pysher's father has said he believes, based on what his son's
friends have told him, that his son tried to enter what he thought
was his friend's house.
“He tried to open the doorknob and obviously startled the
homeowner,” Glen Pysher told The Associated Press last week. “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, the
father said.
Arrests of officers in other cases
Bowling Green State University criminal justice professor Philip
Stinson maintains a nationwide database of roughly 25,000 cases of
police officers arrested since 2005.
According to Stinson’s data, 218 local sworn police officers had
been charged with murder or manslaughter in an on-duty fatal police
shooting between January 2005 and the end of July 2026. There are
several cases still pending, but to date, 78 officers have been
convicted of a crime in those shootings, while 107 have been
acquitted or had their cases dismissed.
In Pennsylvania, 10 officers had been charged in that time, six of
whom were convicted.
Stinson said there are fluctuations in the number of officers
charged over the years, but given there are close to a thousand
fatal police encounters every year, those fluctuations seem
statistically insignificant.
“These are ugly cases. The facts are never easy,” Stinson said.
“Grand juries seem to have a similar issue as criminal jurors. They
are very reluctant to second guess the split-second, often life or
death decisions of an on-duty police officer in a potentially
violent street encounter.”
The majority of officers charged in on-duty fatal shootings shot an
unarmed person. In the 78 convictions, only 10 of the victims were
armed with a gun at the time of the shootings.
—-
Brumback reported from Atlanta. Associated Press writer Claudia
Lauer in Philadelphia contributed.
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