by Police Officer Kelsey Fitzsimmons of North Andover made a statement after being shot by a coworker during an armed altercation in June, claiming that she was trying to kill herself and that she had never waved a firearm at an officer.
Fitzsimmons attempted to shoot the other officer first, according to a police report that was just submitted to the court.
Fitzsimmons, who survived the confrontation, was charged with two counts of assault with a deadly weapon and one count of assault to murder. He was arraigned in Lawrence District Court last week. According to court documents, she entered a not guilty plea to all of the allegations and was placed under a hold without bond after being judged dangerous. The state’s police watchdog has suspended her.
What the police report says
After responding to the scene of the incident, State Police Sgt. David Strong spoke with many police officers and wrote up a report that was submitted to the court last week. Body cams are not used by the NAPD.
When the incident occurred, Fitzsimmons, a 28-year-old officer who had just started working for the North Andover Police Department a year earlier, was on leave. She claims that postpartum depression struck shortly after she and her fiancé gave birth to their child earlier in the spring. Her fianc claims that Fitzsimmons’ actions were increasingly alarming and made him worry that she may endanger herself, their child, and him.
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North Andover officer addresses her shooting in first statement
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Police watchdog suspends North Andover officer shot by colleague
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Fianc of wounded North Andover officer feared she would kill their baby, records show
He therefore claimed that Fitzsimmons had abused him several times in the past and filed for an abuse prevention order. On the evening of June 30, Fitzsimmons was served with the restraining order by three NAPD officers who had been to a residence on Phillips Brook Road. All firearms had to be taken off the property, according to the order.
The court mandated that custody of the small kid be given to Fitzsimmons’ fiancé. The responding officers informed Fitzsimmons of this when they got to the house and called her fiancé to come get his things and pick up the child.
Fitzsimmons started gathering things from around the house for the baby. She was led by two officers up to the second story and around the first floor. According to the report, Fitzsimmons’ mother and fianc arrived at the house at this time. Fitzsimmons requested that an officer keep her away from her when she found out that her fianc was at the house. Fitzsimmons and another cop remained on the second floor after that officer went downstairs.
Fitzsimmons knelt on a bedroom floor to fold clothes after starting to pack books and clothes for her child. The NAPD officer watched from a doorway. According to the report, Fitzsimmons then abruptly lunged for a space behind an open door and then resurfaced with a gun aimed straight at the officer.
According to the report, she pushed the trigger, but the pistol did not go off. By the time the cop produced his own firearm, Fitzsimmons was on his feet. She allegedly began to fill her rifle with another round. She was instructed to drop the gun by the officer. According to the article, he now thought she was attempting to murder him.
According to the investigation, Fitzsimmons attempted to load the gun when the officer fired one round. He hit Fitzsimmons with a second shot. After giving Fitzsimmons help, the responding cops took the magazine out of the rifle she was using. It contained a cartridge of ammo. According to the article, four semi-automatic firearms were found when officials investigated the home later.
One police officer recalled hearing his colleague shout, “Kelsey, don’t do it,” downstairs, followed by two gunshots. According to the report, the other officer present at the residence claimed to have heard Kelsey scream before the gunshots.
Fitzsimmons s side
A request for comment on Monday was not answered by Timothy Bradl, Fitzsimmons’ lawyer.
Following the shooting, he denounced the NAPD’s poor response that resulted in the violent episode and pledged to fight Fitzsimmons’ allegations. Bradl stated that insufficient training might be largely to fault and committed to obtaining departmental data about training protocols and other events of a similar nature.
We shall insist on complete transparency and pursue every lead to its conclusion. At the time, he declared, “We will expose every lie and call out every contradiction.”
According to Bradl, Fitzsimmons’ restraining order was unexpectedly obtained in an ex parte manner. He said that in order to harm Fitzsimmons’ reputation, a probate court affidavit containing hearsay and self-serving accusations was purposefully and extensively published.
Fitzsimmons’ fianc filed that affidavit in Essex County Probate and Family Court to get the restraining order. Boston.com received a copy from the court.
Fitzsimmons’ attorneys stated in court documents that she was cleared to resume her duties as a NAPD officer prior to the incident after an expert clinician determined she was not dangerous. Her next scheduled start date was July 4.
Fitzsimmons herself published a long statement in mid-July that described the encounter from her perspective. She claimed that she became resolved to end her own life after hearing that her career as a police officer was terminated and that her son would be taken away.
She wrote, “I didn’t want to live in that terrible moment after my entire world was turned upside down in a ten-second conversation because someone was accusing me of terrible, false things.”
She never aimed her pistol at another officer, Fitzsimmons makes plain. She talks about how she thought of the officer who shot her as a friend. Last year, they worked together to respond to a murder-suicide that involved a mother and her baby. Fitzsimmons said that this crushed him. She claimed that her mental health issues were triggered by the crime scene and that she was 20 weeks pregnant at the time.
Being a police officer myself, I would never even consider purposefully harming another cop. Everyone in uniform is like a brother or sister to me. In particular, I would never harm a buddy. My friend has a devoted wife and kids. I simply would never. According to her statement, she never pointed the gun anywhere but at her temple.
Since 2022, Ross Cristantiello has been a general assignment news correspondent for Boston.com, covering a variety of topics such as local politics, crime, and the environment.
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