LAWRENCE, Mass. (Court TV) — A former police officer was cleared of charges she assaulted one of her colleagues following a bench trial and hours of deliberation from a judge.
Kelsey Fitzsimmons stands with her attorney after her acquittal. (Court TV)
Kelsey Fitzsimmons was acquitted of assault with a dangerous weapon after an incident at her home on June 30, 2025. At the time, Fitzsimmons was an officer with the North Andover Police Department; her colleagues had been sent to her home to deliver a restraining order. Fitzsimmons, 29, said she raised a gun to take her own life as things escalated. Instead, she was shot by fellow officer Patrick Noonan, who testified that Fitzsimmons pointed the gun not at herself, but directly at him.
The case saw a swarm of publicity in the months before trial, as Fitzsimmons was held in jail for more than 100 days after she was unable to blow into an alcohol detection device.
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“I understand that this case has generated a lot of passion and emotion, but you must remember this is a courtroom and not a sports arena,” Judge Jeffrey Karp warned the courtroom before delivering the verdict.
Fitzsimmons had waived her right to a jury and placed her fate directly into Karp’s hands.
“This has been one of the more exhausting, hardest things I’ve had to do as a judge,” Karp said. “There is no requirement that a judge explain their reasons for reaching a verdict in a bench trial,” he said. “I do in this case, because I think Ms. Fitzsimmons, Officer Noonan and all of the people involved in the tragic events of June 30, 2025, deserve an explanation.”
Karp said he found both Noonan and Fitzsimmons credible when they testified. “I saw no evidence of a conspiracy in this case. What I saw was dedicated public servants,” he said, “doing the best they could under the tragic, rapidly evolving emotional circumstances. What I also saw was a young woman, Ms. Fitzsimmons, who was also a dedicated public servant, reacting to sudden, confusing and heartbreaking news.”
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Karp said his deliberations focused solely on whether Fitzsimmons committed the assault, whether she meant to commit the assault and whether she did so with a dangerous weapon. Issues such as the legality of the restraining order that sparked the incident, the reasonableness of the procedure used to serve it and the custody issues surrounding Fitzsimmons’ young son were pushed to the side. “It is not my place to decide these issues or even mention my thoughts on them,” Karp said. “I am thankful for this, because my role has been hard enough.”
Karp suggested that the decision would have been easier had any of the officers in question been wearing body-worn cameras, which were not part of department policy at the time. “Under these circumstances,” he said, “I am left with a reasonable doubt.”
