Photo: North Andover Police Department/Facebook
LAWRENCE, Mass. (WBZ NewsRadio) — An Essex Superior Court judge has found North Andover Police Officer Kelsey Fitzsimmons not guilty of assault with a deadly weapon.
Fitzsimmons was charged after another North Andover officer, Pat Noonan, claimed she pointed a gun at him while police were trying to serve her with a restraining order from her fiancé back in June 2025. Noonon said he shot Fitzsimmons in response, and she was brought to a hospital.
However, Fitzsimmons said that she pointed the gun at herself, not Noonan, in an attempt to take her own life.
Judge Jeffrey Karp read his verdict Thursday afternoon, saying the decision was difficult.
“What I saw was dedicated public servants, like Officer Noonan and his fellow officers, doing the best they could under tragic, rapidly evolving, emotional circumstances,” Judge Karp said. “What I also saw was a young woman, Ms. Fitzsimmons, who was also a dedicated public servant, react to sudden, confusing, and heartbreaking news.”
Judge Karp said there was not enough evidence to prove the Commonwealth's claim, and both sides were adamant about what had happened.
“Under these circumstances, I am left with a reasonable doubt, and I am duty-bound to find that the commonwealth has not met its burden to prove that Ms. Fitzsimmons committed an assault by means of a dangerous weapon on Officer Noonan,” said Judge Karp. “My verdict is, and must be, not guilty.”
Judge Karp noted that the verdict likely would have been easier if body cameras had been used during the incident.
WBZ NewsRadio’s Madison Rogers (@madisonwbz) reports.