Pennsylvania Officer Charged With Manslaughter in Fatal Shooting of College Student
A Pennsylvania police corporal faces voluntary manslaughter charges for fatally shooting an unarmed 22-year-old college student who posed no threat.
A veteran Pennsylvania police officer has been criminally charged in connection with the fatal shooting of a 22-year-old college student, an incident that occurred last August. Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele announced the charge of voluntary manslaughter against Upper Pottsgrove Police Cpl. Sean Farrell on Tuesday.
The charge stems from the death of Glenwood Earl Pysher IV, who was shot on August 23. The district attorney's office stated that its detective bureau conducted a thorough investigation, which included a review of footage from the officer's body-worn camera.
According to the prosecutor, the evidence showed that Farrell had a taser and other less-than-lethal tools on his utility belt that he did not use. At the moment of the shooting, the officer was positioned safely behind a car, at a distance from Pysher. The victim had his hands raised and was not carrying any weapon.
District Attorney Steele emphasized that his role requires evaluating all circumstances to determine if lethal force was legally justified. In this case, he concluded that Pysher was not a threat and that the use of deadly force was not legal, leading to the voluntary manslaughter charge.