BELIEVE IT OR NOT, PROSECUTORS SAY A POLICE CORPORAL FATALLY SHOT AN UNARMED COLLEGE STUDENT WHO WENT TO THE WRONG HOUSE AFTER DRINKING WITH FRIENDS… AND THE OFFICER HAS NOW BEEN CHARGED WITH VOLUNTARY MANSLAUGHTER.
On Tuesday, September 1, the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office announced criminal charges against a Pennsylvania police officer.
Police corporal Sean Farrell has been charged with voluntary manslaughter.
The charge was filed in connection with the fatal shooting of Glenwood “Bubba” Pysher IV.
Pysher was 22 years old.
He was a college student.
The events leading to the shooting occurred in late August.
On August 22, Pysher was taking part in a pub crawl with friends.
The outing involved a night of drinking.
The group later decided to move on to a nearby house.
But Pysher mistakenly went to the wrong home.
A 911 emergency call was subsequently placed from that residence.
The emergency caller reported a “possible attempted break-in at a residence.”
On August 23, law enforcement officers arrived at the home around 12:30 a.m.
Then an officer fired at the male subject.
The officer fatally struck him.
The Montgomery County Detective Bureau launched an investigation into the shooting.
In a news release issued on September 1, the district attorney’s office announced the findings of that investigation.
The district attorney’s office said the investigation determined that the shooting was “not a legal use of force by a police officer.”
Farrell’s body-worn camera was examined during the inquiry.
The device captured the moments leading up to the gunfire.
Farrell was 58 years old.
The video footage showed Farrell walking down the driveway.
He was carrying a firearm with a mounted light.
Farrell positioned himself behind a car in the driveway.
From that position, he observed Pysher standing on the home’s cement patio near the rear door.
“Police, let me see your hands. Hands up, hands up now, drop to the ground,” Farrell said, and Pysher raised his hands in the air as he walked toward the officer.
The corporal repeated his orders to the approaching student.
“The officer again yelled: ‘Drop to the ground,’ as Pysher continued to walk toward him with his hands raised. Cpl. Farrell again yelled ‘Drop to the ground,’ then yelled ‘Stop or I’ll…’ but prior to finishing that command, Cpl. Farrell fired two shots, striking Pysher twice in the chest,” the district attorney’s office said in a statement.
Pysher was struck twice in the chest.
Investigators measured the distance between the corporal and the student.
Pysher was “17 to 20 feet away” from Farrell when he was “fatally shot.”
Detectives processed the scene for physical evidence.
The district attorney’s office said detectives recovered “two fired cartridge casings” from Farrell’s gun at the scene.
Detectives determined that Pysher was unarmed at the time of the fatal shooting.
The Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office outlined the statutory boundaries for lethal encounters under state law.
Under Pennsylvania law, an 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” or when he believes that the suspect is “attempting to escape and possesses a deadly weapon” that will put others at risk.
District Attorney Kevin Steele addressed the case in a formal statement.
“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,” District Attorney Kevin Steele said in a statement.
And Steele addressed the threat assessment directly.
Steele added, “Mr. Pysher was not a threat. This is not a legal use of deadly force, leading to the charge of voluntary manslaughter.”
Detectives had the body-worn camera footage.
Detectives had the two fired cartridge casings.
Detectives had confirmed that the student was unarmed.
It is not currently clear whether Farrell has entered a plea or retained legal counsel following his arrest.
Farrell turned himself in to Montgomery County detectives on Tuesday, September 1.
His bail was set at $75,000.
His next hearing is scheduled to take place on September 10.
The charges are allegations and have not been proven in court.
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