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North Andover police officer shot by colleague placed on house arrest after not guilty plea
The officer is expected to be out of custody Friday under strict conditions after she allegedly assaulted a colleague with a gun.
A North Andover police officer who was shot by a colleague after she allegedly pointed a gun at him will be released on house arrest following a not guilty plea at her arraignment Thursday, according to The Boston Globe.
Kelsey Fitzsimmons, 28, was arraigned in Essex Superior Court for a charge of assault with a dangerous weapon. She was indicted Monday by a grand jury, court records showed.
Though Fitzsimmons’ attorneys expect her to be out of custody Friday, she is required to live with relatives and be monitored by GPS until the trial, the Globe reported. She was also barred from having any contact with her infant son, the alleged victim, or any of the witnesses.
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Fitzsimmons was shot June 30 when North Andover officers arrived at her home to serve a restraining order obtained by her fiancé, who wrote in court documents that she was a danger to herself, him, and their child.
“Kelsey is threatening to take the baby ‘far, far away for a long, long time.’ This is how she has spoken about killing herself in the past. I fear that she will kill the baby at any moment,” he wrote in an application filed in Essex County Probate and Family Court. “She punched her stomach repeatedly while pregnant, saying she would kill herself and the baby.”
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When an “armed conflict” broke out as officers attempted to serve the order, Fitzsimmons was shot in the chest after she allegedly pointed a pistol at one of them. However, in a statement released last month, she maintained that she never pointed the gun at the officer and was trying to kill herself.
Both Fitzsimmons and her lawyer Timothy Bradl have stated that she has shown symptoms of postpartum depression, and she was previously involuntarily committed to Lowell General Hospital for treatment. Bradl also said that Fitzsimmons has been the subject of a smear campaign intended to “criminalize her in order to deflect accountability” from North Andover police.
“I’m not suggesting the defendant didn’t suffer from mental struggles during the period after she gave birth to her child. I’m not suggesting that at all,” Essex County Assistant District Attorney James Gubitose said in court Thursday, according to the Globe. “What I do suggest is there is evidence that happened previously, too, that there were anger issues, aggression, alcohol issues dating back to when she was in high school and beyond.”
Fitzsimmons was previously facing the far more serious charge of assault with intent to murder, which carries a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, according to court records. However, a grand jury declined to indict her on that charge.
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Bradl told the judge Thursday that a psychiatric expert concluded that Fitzsimmons was suffering from postpartum depression, according to the Globe. A team from Massachusetts General Hospital also concluded that she is no longer a danger to herself under the state’s mental health laws, Bradl said.
Under the judge’s orders, Fitzsimmons will be removed from home confinement only to receive psychiatric care, the Globe reported. She also remains suspended from her certification as a police officer after a state police watchdog ordered the suspension in July.
Bradl did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday evening.
This article has been updated to clarify the context in which a quote was said.
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