An Upper Pottsgrove police officer has been charged with voluntary manslaughter over the fatal shooting of 22-year-old Glenwood Pysher IV in Pennsylvania.
Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele said Corporal Sean Farrell, 58, opened fire during an encounter at a home on Snyder Road shortly after midnight on August 23. Pysher had been celebrating a friend’s 21st birthday and, investigators say, had mistakenly gone to the wrong address while walking to another friend’s house. ([apnews.com](https://apnews.com/article/f60abeceb17a9572a457615b3549bd6d))
The residents, who believed someone was attempting to break in, called 911. Farrell was the first officer to arrive and approached the property with his service weapon drawn, taking cover behind a parked car, prosecutors said.
According to the district attorney’s account, body-worn camera footage shows Pysher with his hands raised as he slowly walked towards the officer. He was unarmed.
Farrell shot Pysher twice, killing him, prosecutors said. When another officer arrived, Farrell was recorded saying that Pysher had been screaming and had charged at him.
Officer charged over Upper Pottsgrove police shooting
Steele said investigators had reviewed Farrell’s body-camera footage and concluded that the shooting was not legally justified. The district attorney’s office said the officer had less-lethal options, including a Taser, which he did not use.
“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,” Steele said in a statement. “Mr. Pysher was not a threat. This is not a legal use of deadly force, leading to the charge of Voluntary Manslaughter.” ([apnews.com](https://apnews.com/article/f60abeceb17a9572a457615b3549bd6d))
Farrell has surrendered to authorities and has been placed on administrative leave, according to reports. He has served with the Upper Pottsgrove police department since 2005, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. ([inquirer.com](https://www.inquirer.com/news/glenwood-pysher-shooting-criminal-charges-upper-pottsgrove-20260901.html))
The Montgomery County Coroner’s Office previously classified Pysher’s death as a homicide, caused by two gunshot wounds to the chest. The classification is a medical finding and does not, by itself, determine criminal intent or legal responsibility. ([inquirer.com](https://www.inquirer.com/crime/upper-pottsgrove-police-fatal-shooting-glenwood-pysher-wrong-house-20260827.html?utm_source=openai))
Pysher, known to relatives and friends as “Bubba”, was due to begin his senior year at St Elizabeth University in New Jersey. His family has said he had gone to the wrong house by mistake and questioned why the confrontation escalated so quickly.
