NORTH ANDOVER — Today, an Essex County Superior Court judge granted bail to Kelsey Fitzsimmons, a North Andover police officer who has spent more than 100 days in jail following an armed confrontation at her home earlier this year.
Fitzsimmons, 29, faces a single count of assault with a dangerous weapon stemming from a June 30 incident that occurred when officers arrived at her residence to serve a restraining order obtained by her fiancé. She has pleaded not guilty. A grand jury declined to indict her on a more serious charge of armed assault with intent to murder.
According to court records, a fellow North Andover police officer shot Fitzsimmons during the encounter, claiming she pointed a firearm at him and pulled the trigger, which discharged a blank because the weapon was unloaded. Fitzsimmons has disputed that account, telling investigators she pointed the gun at the side of her own head in what she described as a “half-hearted” attempt to take her own life.
Despite being eligible for release earlier, Fitzsimmons remained jailed for months after Judge Kathleen McCarthy-Neyman ruled she could not comply with a condition requiring alcohol monitoring via breath testing. Her attorneys argued that the injuries she sustained, which include broken ribs, prevented her from performing the breath test without pain, and requested that she take urine tests instead.
At a hearing today, Fitzsimmons’ attorney Timothy Bradl told the court that she is now able to comply with the alcohol testing requirement.
“Ms. Fitzsimmons is able to muster the appropriate amount of oxygen or deep breath, and she can comply with the terms that the court has requested,” Bradl said, adding that medical staff had evaluated her condition.
Judge McCarthy-Neyman noted that court filings indicated Fitzsimmons had been capable of completing the breath tests since late November, raising questions about the timing of the defense’s request for release. Bradl responded that her legal team had been pursuing an appeal with the Supreme Judicial Court, which ruled Monday that a judge did not err in ordering her return to jail.
As part of her release, Fitzsimmons will be subject to GPS monitoring and 24-hour house arrest, with exceptions only for medical, psychiatric, and legal appointments. She will reside at her parents’ home in Methuen and has been ordered to have no contact with the alleged victim, witnesses in the case, and her 9-month-old child.
Fitzsimmons is scheduled to stand trial on Feb. 9 in Essex County Superior Court.