Lawyer for family of college student killed by officer after arriving at wrong house wants body-cam footage

The attorney for the family of a college student who was killed by a Pennsylvania police officer after showing up at a house he mistakenly thought was a friend's residence is requesting to see the officer's body-worn camera footage after a prosecutor alleged that it showed the officer lied about the encounter.

"He flat-out lied about what happened in order to justify his shooting," Ken Fulginiti, an attorney for the family of the shooting victim, 22-year-old Glenwood "Bubba" Pysher, told ABC Philadelphia station WPVI.

Fulginiti said Pysher's parents still have questions about why their son was gunned down after the Montgomery County District Attorney's Office announced Tuesday that Cpl. Sean Farrell had been charged with voluntary manslaughter stemming from the Aug. 23 homicide in Upper Pottsgrove Township, Pennsylvania.

The 58-year-old Farrell, a veteran of the Upper Pottsgrove Township Police Department, was arrested Tuesday and jailed on $75,000 bail after requesting a public defender be assigned to his case. His next court appearance is scheduled for Sept. 10.

During a news conference Tuesday, Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin R. Steele said footage from Farrell's body-worn camera that was activated during the incident appeared to show Pysher complying with the officer's orders when he was shot.

Steele said that footage recorded by the body-worn camera, which he did not play but from which he released a still image, showed Farrell claim to a colleague after the shooting that Pysher "charged" him while "screaming and yelling."

“The body-worn camera video does not depict Pysher charging and does not depict yelling or screaming prior to the shooting,” Steele said.

Fulginiti told WPVI that he wants to see the body-worn camera video in full, as well as video and audio recorded from Farrell's squad car and from a security camera he said was at the home where the shooting occurred, the latter of which is also referenced in the criminal complaint.

"This was not a tense, split-second decision, where the wrong decision was made," Fulginiti told WPVI. "This was a significantly reckless move on behalf of this officer."

While he applauded the Steele for filing the voluntary manslaughter charge against Farrell, Fulginiti called the evidence the prosecutor shared at the news conference "really startling."

"We would like to see the evidence that is available. We would like the details filled in," Fulginiti said. "We certainly see the picture of what happened here: the officer grossly overreacted .... to what I call a relatively pedestrian situation."

Pysher's parents told ABC News last week that before the shooting, their son had been out bar-hopping with a group celebrating a friend's 21st birthday.

Popular Reads

Iran live updates: Rubio rules out returning to deal with Iran

• 1 hour ago

Lionel Richie checks himself into hospital out of abundance of caution: Source

• 2 days ago

Dolly Parton worked ‘until the day she died,’ manager says

• Aug 26

Pysher's mother, Erin Pysher, said that when the group moved the celebration to a friend's house, her son walked to what he wrongly thought was the correct address.

"He was walking down the road to what he thought was his friend's house. And after some drinks, he ended up walking in the dark at night. I guess he got mixed up and he made a wrong turn and went to the wrong house," Erin Pysher said.

According to the criminal complaint, some 45 minutes before the shooting, which police say occurred at 12:29 a.m., Glenwood Pysher contacted friends who had been with him that night, who were "exchanging calls and texts with the victim, who at the time, was apparently confused about his surroundings."

Pysher sent a Snapchat video of his location to a friend, who "immediately knew the victim was at the wrong residence," the complaint states. The friend then went in search of Pysher "based on a shared Snapchat location" and arrived at the scene minutes after Pysher was shot.

Farrell was the first officer to arrive at the scene after the homeowner called to report that a stranger was knocking on their back door trying to get in, according to the criminal complaint. The officer was positioned behind a car in the driveway when he saw Pysher on the back patio and yelled, "Police, let me see your hands."

The criminal complaint – citing the body-worn camera footage, which includes audio – alleges that Farrell was behind a car 17 to 20 feet from Pysher and opened fire after failing to finish the sentence, "Stop or I'll..."

"Corporal Farrell unreasonably used deadly force without any consideration of using less lethal means against Pysher," according to the complaint.

"Mr. Pysher had his hands up," Steele said at Tuesday's news conference. "He had no weapon. He did not charge the officer or act aggressively in any way. He was not a threat to the homeowners who were inside their residence."

Steele also said Farrell was equipped with less-lethal tools he could have used, including a stun gun and baton.

"This is not a legal use of lethal force under Pennsylvania law," said Steele, adding that he met with Pysher's parents before announcing the charges against Farrell.

ABC News' Jason Volack and Matt Foster contributed to this report.