In the early hours of an August morning in Pennsylvania, a 22-year-old college student named Glenwood Earl Pysher knocked on the wrong door while searching for friends, and that simple, human error became fatal. A police officer arrived, issued commands that Pysher obeyed — hands raised, walking forward — and then fired twice from twenty feet away. The body camera captured what words later tried to obscure, and now a voluntary manslaughter charge asks a court to weigh the distance between a lawful command and a lawful killing.
Pennsylvania officer charged in fatal shooting of unarmed student at wrong house
Glenwood Earl Pysher, 22, was fatally shot twice in the chest by police officer Sean Farrell while complying with orders with hands raised.
This is not a legal use of lethal force.
Mark
So he was actually complying with the officer's commands when he was shot?
Mimi
Yes. The body camera shows Pysher with his hands up, walking toward Farrell as instructed. He was doing what he was told to do.
Luke
But we should note—we only have the body camera footage as our record of what actually happened. Farrell's account to the other officer was different. The question a jury will have to answer is what the video actually shows.
Mark
And the officer had other options available?
Mimi
He did. A Taser was on his belt. The district attorney emphasized that point—Farrell had less-lethal tools he didn't use.
Luke
That's important context, but it's also the kind of thing that gets argued in court. Defense counsel will likely argue that in the moment, Farrell perceived a threat. The prosecution will argue the video shows no threat. We don't know yet what a jury will decide.
Mark
Why does it matter that Pysher was intoxicated?
Mimi
It explains why he was at the wrong house. He'd been out celebrating, was disoriented, made a mistake. He wasn't there to commit a crime.
Luke
Though we should be careful not to use intoxication as a reason to excuse what happened. The relevant fact is that he was unarmed and complying. His blood alcohol level doesn't change the body camera footage.
Mark
What happens next?
Mimi
The case goes to court. The hearing is September 10th. A jury will eventually see that body camera footage and decide whether Farrell's use of force was justified.
Luke
And we should watch for what the defense argues about Farrell's state of mind, his training, what he believed he was facing. Those details will matter in a voluntary manslaughter case.
The Pulse
- A young man celebrating a friend's birthday wandered to the wrong address, sat on a stranger's porch, and was shot twice in the chest while his hands were in the air.
- Officer Sean Farrell's account — that Pysher charged him, screaming and refusing to comply — was directly contradicted by his own body camera footage.
- The existence of a Taser on Farrell's belt, never drawn, became a prosecutorial fault line: lethal force was chosen when non-lethal options were within reach.
- Montgomery County's District Attorney publicly declared the shooting an illegal use of force, signaling that the criminal justice system itself is on trial alongside the officer.
- Farrell surrendered, bail was set, and a September hearing looms — but the body camera footage, not testimony, remains the immovable center of the case.
In the early hours of an August morning in Pennsylvania, a 22-year-old college student named Glenwood Earl Pysher knocked on the wrong door while searching for friends, and that simple, human error became fatal. A police officer arrived, issued commands that Pysher obeyed — hands raised, walking forward — and then fired twice from twenty feet away. The body camera captured what words later tried to obscure, and now a voluntary manslaughter charge asks a court to weigh the distance between a lawful command and a lawful killing.
On the night of August 23rd, Glenwood Earl Pysher, 22, was out celebrating a friend's birthday when he lost his bearings walking between bars. He ended up on the back porch of the wrong house, sat down, and called his friends to figure out where he was. The homeowner called 911.
Upper Pottsgrove Police Corporal Sean Farrell arrived and shouted commands — hands up, drop to the ground. Pysher complied. He raised his hands and walked toward the officer as instructed. Before completing the sentence "Stop or I'll—", Farrell fired twice. Both bullets struck Pysher in the chest. He was twenty feet away.
The body camera footage told a story that Farrell's own account did not. He later told another officer that Pysher had charged him, screaming and refusing orders. The video showed otherwise: a young man with his hands raised, doing what he was told.
Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele reviewed the footage and was unambiguous — this was not a legal use of lethal force. Investigators noted that Farrell carried a Taser he never reached for. He chose the gun.
Farrell turned himself in, posted $75,000 bail, and faces a hearing on September 10th. The charge is voluntary manslaughter. At the center of everything is a recording that cannot be cross-examined — only interpreted by a court now tasked with deciding what obligation an officer carries when a compliant, unarmed young man is walking toward him with his hands in the air.
On the early morning of August 23rd, a 22-year-old college student named Glenwood Earl Pysher made a mistake that cost him his life. He had spent the evening at bars celebrating a friend's twenty-first birthday, and later decided to walk to another friend's house to continue drinking. In the dark, he went to the wrong address. He tried the door, found it locked, and sat down on the back porch to call his friends and figure out where he actually was.
The homeowner, alarmed by a stranger on their property, called 911. Upper Pottsgrove Police Corporal Sean Farrell, 58, arrived while Pysher was still sitting on the rear patio. What happened next was captured on Farrell's body camera—footage that would become the centerpiece of a criminal investigation and, ultimately, a voluntary manslaughter charge.
When Farrell arrived, he shouted commands: "Police, let me see your hands. Hands up, hands up now, drop to the ground." Pysher complied. He raised his hands in the air and began walking toward the officer, doing exactly what he had been told to do. As he approached, Farrell shouted again: "Drop to the ground." Then, before finishing his sentence—"Stop or I'll…"—Farrell fired twice. Both shots struck Pysher in the chest. The young man was approximately twenty feet away when the officer opened fire.
Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele reviewed the body camera footage and made his position clear at a news conference: "This is not a legal use of lethal force." The investigation revealed a crucial detail that would shape the charges: Farrell had less-lethal options available on his utility belt that he never deployed. He carried a Taser. He chose not to use it.
What Farrell told another officer after the shooting contradicted what the body camera showed. According to the criminal complaint, he claimed that Pysher "charged me, screaming and yelling and wouldn't get down on the ground." The video evidence did not support this account. Pysher had raised his hands and was walking toward the officer in response to direct commands—not charging, not refusing to comply.
Farrell turned himself in on Tuesday following the charges. His bail was set at $75,000. A hearing is scheduled for September 10th. The case now moves through the criminal justice system, but the body camera footage—the objective record of what occurred on that back porch—remains the central fact. A young man who knocked on the wrong door while intoxicated is dead. An officer who had alternatives available chose lethal force instead. The question now is what a court will make of that choice.
Notable Quotes
This is not a legal use of lethal force.— Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele
The guy charged me, screaming and yelling and wouldn't get down on the ground.— Officer Sean Farrell, according to the criminal complaint
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