September 01, 2026
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The Montgomery County District Attorney's Office filed voluntary manslaughter charges Tuesday against Upper Pottsgrove Police Cpl. Sean Farrell, 58, who fatally shot Glenwood Pysher, 22, while responding to a 911 call on Aug. 23. Above, the Montgomery County Courthouse in Norristown.
An Upper Pottsgrove police officer will face manslaughter charges for last month's fatal shooting of a man who mistakenly went to the wrong home after a late night out drinking with friends, the Montgomery County District Attorney's Office said Tuesday.
Cpl. Sean Farrell, 58, turned himself in Tuesday following an investigation into whether his use of deadly force was justified in the Aug. 23 shooting. Glenwood Earl Pysher IV, 22, was shot twice in the chest moments after Farrell responded to a 911 call from an Upper Pottsgrove homeowner awakened by loud noises at the door after midnight that Sunday.
Montgomery County detectives reviewed Farrell's body-worn camera footage to determine his and Pysher's actions leading up to the shooting. Pysher, who was about to start his senior year of college at St. Elizabeth University in New Jersey, was unarmed.
Police were called to the property on Snyder Road around 12:30 a.m. after the homeowner reported a man in his late teens or early 20s attempting to break in through the rear entrance. Farrell was the first officer to arrive.
Footage from Farrell's body camera shows he walked down the driveway with his gun drawn. A flashlight mounted to his weapon was turned on as he approached the back of the property, investigators said. Farrell took cover behind a red car in the driveway and spotted Pysher standing on a cement patio several feet from the home's back door, the video shows.
"Police, let me see your hands," Farrell shouted, followed by a second command, "Hands up, hands up now, drop to the ground," according to investigators.
In the video, Pysher can be seen clearly raising his hands and walking toward Farrell, authorities said.
Farrell ordered Pysher to "drop to the ground," and as Pysher continued walking, the officer began to shout, "Stop or I'll ..."
Detectives said Farrell fired both shots before finishing his sentence. Pysher was between 17 and 20 feet away from the officer, according to investigators, and Farrell never attempted to use a Taser.
Authorities learned Pysher had been out at several bars earlier in the night to celebrate a friend's 21st birthday. At around 11 p.m. on Aug. 22, a designated driver took the group of friends to one of their homes. Pysher left that home around 11:30 p.m. to walk to another friend's house and continue drinking. He instead made a wrong turn and ended up at the home on Snyder Avenue, where family and friends say he soon realized his mistake.
Pysher's mother told ABC News her son was on his phone talking with friends moments before he was killed. She believes he rang the doorbell to the home and then went to the back door and knocked before sending a photo of the property to a friend, who told Pysher he was at the wrong address.
"His friends were on the way to pick him up when the cops, they said, went flying by them," Erin Pysher said last week in an interview with ABC News.
Pysher said her son played catcher for his college baseball team and was studying to become a history teacher. Apart from a speeding ticket as a teenager, he had never had any run-ins with the law.
Under Pennsylvania law, a police officer is justified in using deadly force "only when he believes such force is necessary to prevent death or serious bodily injury to himself or such other person." Officers may also legally use deadly force in narrow circumstances if an armed suspect is resisting arrest after committing a "forcible felony," or if the suspect clearly communicates intent to endanger human life unless arrested without delay, the DA's office said Tuesday.
District Attorney Kevin Steele said Farrell's actions did not meet the state's thresholds for deadly force.
“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. "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."
Farrell is charged with voluntary manslaughter. His arraignment was scheduled Tuesday afternoon for bail to be set and a preliminary hearing to be scheduled.
Funeral services for Pysher were held Monday at Warker-Troutman Funeral Home in Pottstown. A GoFundMe campaign to support Pysher's family had raised more than $38,000 as of Tuesday afternoon.
