A Pennsylvania police officer has been charged with voluntary manslaughter in the fatal shooting of a 22-year-old college student who was looking for friends late at night and ended up at the wrong house.

Upper Pottsgrove Police Cpl. Sean Farrell was charged Tuesday in connection with the death of Glenwood Earl “Bubba” Pysher IV, who was shot twice in the chest on August 23 in Upper Pottsgrove Township.

Investigators reviewing Farrell’s body-camera footage said the officer ordered Pysher to show his hands and get on the ground. Pysher was then seen raising his hands and walking toward Farrell. The officer again ordered him to stop before firing two shots.

According to the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office, Pysher was unarmed and was approximately 17 to 20 feet from Farrell when he was shot. Prosecutors said Farrell had less-lethal options, including a Taser, and that Pysher did not pose a threat at the time of the shooting.

Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele said the investigation determined that the use of deadly force was not legally justified, leading to the voluntary manslaughter charge.

An attorney for Pysher’s family, Ken Fulginiti, thanked prosecutors and said the family was seeking accountability over what he described as the preventable death of their son.

Farrell turned himself in to Montgomery County detectives on Tuesday. Magisterial District Judge Kathleen Rebar set bail at $75,000 and ordered Farrell to surrender all weapons to Pennsylvania State Police as a condition of his release. His preliminary hearing was scheduled for September 10.

Farrell had responded to a 911 call reporting that someone was attempting to enter the back door of a home. According to investigators, he arrived as the first officer at the scene and approached the house with his firearm drawn.

Body-camera footage showed Farrell walking down the driveway and using his weapon-mounted light to illuminate the area. He then saw Pysher on the patio near the back door.

Farrell identified himself as police and repeatedly ordered Pysher to raise his hands and get on the ground. The video shows Pysher raising his hands and continuing to move toward the officer.

The district attorney’s office said Farrell then shouted, “Stop or I’ll …” before firing two shots. The shots struck Pysher in the chest, killing him.

Farrell later told another responding officer that Pysher had charged toward him while screaming and refusing to get down. However, investigators said the body-camera footage did not show Pysher charging at the officer.

Investigators determined that Pysher had been out earlier that night celebrating a friend’s 21st birthday at several bars. Around 11 p.m., a designated driver took the group to the birthday celebrant’s home.

About 30 minutes later, Pysher left and began walking roughly half a mile to another friend’s house to continue drinking. According to the investigation, he mistakenly went to the wrong home.

Pysher’s father, Glenwood Pysher III, said his son likely believed he was at his friend’s house. He told The Associated Press that Pysher apparently tried to open the door and called out to the homeowner before realizing he was in the wrong location.

His father said Pysher eventually sat on the back porch and contacted his friends. Once they realized he had gone to the wrong house, they began looking for him.

The case is among a number of incidents involving police officers charged after fatal on-duty shootings. According to data maintained by Bowling Green State University criminal justice professor Philip Stinson, 218 local sworn officers were charged with murder or manslaughter in connection with fatal on-duty police shootings between January 2005 and the end of July 2026.

Stinson’s database shows that 78 officers in those cases had been convicted of a crime, while 107 had been acquitted or had their cases dismissed. In Pennsylvania, 10 officers had been charged during that period, with six convictions.

Stinson said officers charged in fatal on-duty shootings often face difficult cases because juries can be reluctant to second-guess decisions made during rapidly developing encounters.

The prosecution against Farrell will now proceed through the Pennsylvania court system, where the evidence and circumstances surrounding Pysher’s death will be examined in further proceedings.

SOURCE: Associated Press, Tassanee Vejpongsa and Kate Brumback, updated September 25, 2026.