Testimony begins in trial of Kelsey Fitzsimmons, North Andover police officer shot by colleague
By Sera Congi, Ted Wayman, Phil Tenser
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LAWRENCE, Massachusetts (WCVB) — Testimony will resume Tuesday morning in the bench trial of Kelsey Fitzsimmons, the North Andover, Massachusetts, police officer who was shot by a colleague while they served her a restraining order last summer.
Officer Patrick Noonan was on the stand Monday afternoon when the court adjourned for the day and is expected to resume his testimony on Tuesday. Under direct examination by the prosecution, he had described Fitzsimmons lunging behind the door of a bedroom and emerging with a gun. He said she pulled the trigger twice, but it did not fire.
Noonan said he shouted at Fitzsimmons while she worked the weapon and that he fired at her when she successfully got a round in the chamber.
Fitzsimmons, 28, who was charged with assault with a dangerous weapon, is facing a bench trial in Lawrence District Court. She waived her right to a jury trial, opting for the judge to decide the outcome of the case.
She pleaded not guilty after being shot in a June 2025 confrontation with North Andover officers who were attempting to serve her with a restraining order filed by her fiancé. He had alleged that Fitzsimmons threatened him and their newborn child.
In the prosecution’s opening statements, ADA James Gubitose said Fitzsimmons had a full magazine in her handgun and that she pulled the trigger while pointing it at one of the officers. The only reasons the officer is alive today, Gubitose said, are that there was no bullet in the chamber and because of Officer Patrick Noonan’s training.
Defense attorney Tim Bradl argued that Fitzsimmons felt her life falling apart, estranged from her colleagues and betrayed by her fiancé. In the defense’s version of events, Fitzsimmons had made the decision to end her life using her firearm. Bradl denied that Fitzsimmons pointed the gun at Noonan and said she actually pointed it at her own temple.
Testimony on the first day of the trial included Fitzsimmons’ ex-fiancé, Justin Aylaian, and his sister. Aylaian described making his decision to seek a restraining order against Fitzsimmons and a custody order for their child from a judge. After it was issued, he said police went to serve the order before calling him to the home to retrieve the infant.
Lt. Sean Daley and Noonan were among the officers who served that restraining order. Daley said in his testimony that he heard Noonan calling out, “Kelsey, don’t do it,” before hearing two gunshots. Afterward, he said that Fitzsimmons kept saying, “I’m sorry, I want to die.”
Dramatic video shown during Daley’s testimony came from surveillance cameras at Fitzsimmons’ home. Clips showed her mother and the fiancé arriving, and the frantic response after the shooting. The footage is important because there was no body-worn camera footage from the police.
The footage showed Aylaian running out of the house through the garage. He testified that he was “screaming for my sister to run” from the home with the baby.
Prior to this trial, Fitzsimmons had been ordered by the court not to drink any alcohol or possess any weapons. More recently, Fitzsimmons was given permission to move out of her mother’s home to prepare for what she hopes will be reunification with her child.
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