Prosecutors say body-camera footage showed Glenwood Pysher IV had his hands raised when a police corporal shot him twice.

NORRISTOWN, Pa. — A Pennsylvania police corporal who fatally shot a 22-year-old college student outside a home the young man had mistakenly believed belonged to a friend has been charged with voluntary manslaughter after prosecutors concluded the shooting was not legally justified.

The charge against former Upper Pottsgrove Township Police Cpl. Sean Farrell, 58, marked a major turn in the investigation into the Aug. 23 death of Glenwood Earl “Bubba” Pysher IV. Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele said investigators reviewed Farrell’s body-worn camera and other evidence before determining that Pysher was unarmed, had his hands raised and was 17 to 20 feet from the officer when Farrell fired. Farrell has not been convicted of a crime, and the voluntary manslaughter charge remains an allegation that must be proven in court.

The encounter began after a night that had been centered on a friend’s birthday rather than any confrontation with police. Pysher had been drinking with friends at area bars before the group was driven to a house by a designated driver, according to prosecutors and family accounts. He later set out on foot for another friend’s home roughly a half-mile away. In the dark, and after drinking, he became confused about the location. He reached a residence on Snyder Road in Upper Pottsgrove Township and apparently believed he had arrived at the correct house. His mother, Erin Pysher, said he knocked at the back door and called out for someone to let him in, thinking his friends were inside.

The residents did not know Pysher and believed someone might be trying to enter their home. They called 911 shortly after midnight to report a possible attempted break-in. The homeowners’ concern set in motion the police response, but investigators later said Pysher himself was not armed. According to accounts released after the shooting, he communicated with friends while at the wrong property. His friends realized he was not at the intended house and planned to retrieve him. His family said he had a cellphone and backpack with him. There is no indication in the public findings that he possessed a weapon.

Farrell was the first officer to arrive. Prosecutors said his body camera showed him walking down the driveway with his department-issued handgun drawn and using the weapon-mounted light as he approached the rear of the property. He positioned himself behind a vehicle and saw Pysher near the patio and back door. According to the district attorney’s account of the recording, Farrell identified himself as police and ordered Pysher to show his hands, raise them and get on the ground. Pysher raised his hands and moved toward the officer while Farrell continued ordering him to the ground.

The sequence lasted only seconds. Investigators said Farrell repeated the command to get down and then began another warning, telling Pysher to stop. Before completing that warning, prosecutors said, Farrell fired twice. Both shots struck Pysher in the chest. The district attorney’s office said Pysher was about 17 to 20 feet from Farrell. The Montgomery County coroner later ruled Pysher’s death a homicide, a medical finding describing death caused by another person and not by itself a determination of criminal guilt.

What Farrell said after the shooting became a significant part of the criminal investigation. According to the probable-cause allegations reported by CBS Philadelphia, Farrell told another officer that the man had charged him while screaming and would not get on the ground. Steele said investigators did not believe the video supported that description. The prosecutor said Pysher did not charge Farrell or act aggressively and emphasized that the young man’s hands were visible. Prosecutors also noted that Farrell was behind cover when he fired. Those findings form part of the state’s case and remain subject to challenge in court.

Steele also focused on Farrell’s available alternatives. Investigators said the corporal carried less-lethal equipment, including a Taser, but did not use it before firing his handgun. Steele said Pysher did not pose a threat that justified deadly force under the circumstances documented by investigators. The district attorney described the decision to fire as an unlawful use of deadly force and said that conclusion led to the voluntary manslaughter charge. The filing is unusual in the sense that prosecutors must evaluate not only whether an officer intentionally used deadly force but whether the circumstances legally justified that force.

Farrell turned himself in after the charge was announced Sept. 1. A judge set bail at $75,000 and required him to surrender weapons to Pennsylvania State Police as a condition of release, according to published reports. Upper Pottsgrove Township initially suspended him without pay. On Sept. 2, township officials said Farrell voluntarily retired from the police department after about 21 years with the agency. The retirement does not resolve the criminal case. The township also said it would conduct an internal review of relevant policies, training protocols and field responses while continuing to cooperate with prosecutors.

For Pysher’s family, the criminal filing followed days of publicly asking how a mistaken address could have ended in a fatal police shooting. His mother initially told WPVI that her son had been speaking with friends at about 12:32 a.m. and, based on the family’s understanding of the timeline, had been shot only minutes later. Before prosecutors announced the charge, the family had little public information explaining why the officer fired. Their attorney, Ken Fulginiti, later said the family wanted access to the body-camera footage and accused Farrell of giving a misleading account after the shooting. Any allegation about Farrell’s statements will ultimately be tested through the criminal process.

Pysher had been preparing for a new semester at Saint Elizabeth University in New Jersey, where he was expected to play baseball after transferring to the school. Family members described baseball as one of the central parts of his life. His father told The Associated Press that Pysher was interested in becoming a high school history teacher and baseball coach. His mother remembered him publicly as lighthearted and deeply attached to his family. Instead of beginning classes, his relatives gathered for his funeral Aug. 31, eight days after the shooting.

The case now centers on evidence that did not exist in public view when the shooting was first reported. Early accounts established that a resident had called police about someone at the back of a home, but they did not explain what happened once an officer arrived. Prosecutors later said the body-camera footage provided that missing sequence: Farrell approached with his gun drawn, gave commands, saw Pysher raise his hands and fired while the young man remained several yards away. The prosecution’s decision to charge Farrell therefore rests not merely on the fact that an unarmed man was killed, but on its interpretation of what the camera shows about the threat Farrell faced at the instant he fired.

Farrell was scheduled in early reporting for a preliminary hearing on Sept. 10. Publicly available reporting reviewed through Sept. 30 did not establish a later final disposition of the voluntary manslaughter case. The charge remains an accusation, and Farrell is entitled to the presumption of innocence unless and until prosecutors prove the case. The township’s policy review and the criminal proceedings are separate processes, leaving both the officer’s legal responsibility and the department’s response subject to further review.

Author note: Last updated September 30, 2026.