A North Andover police officer shot by a coworker in late June was released Monday afternoon, months after the “armed confrontation” with officers serving her a restraining order taken out by her fiancé.
Kelsey Fitzsimmons was released on personal recognizance with a slew of conditions, including that she not have any contact with her infant son.
The 28-year-old is charged with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon in connection with the incident on June 30, during which police say she pointed a gun at a fellow officer.
Through her lawyer, Fitzsimmons has denied doing so and said she tried to take her own life that night.
As she left the courthouse Monday, Fitzsimmons, flanked by her lawyers, said simply, “The truth will come out.”
Fitzsimmons “looks very much forward to going home to recover, to prepare for what’s ahead in this case, because she is innocent,” said Martha Coakley, the former attorney general who has joined her defense team.
Fitzsimmons was initially set to be released following a hearing in late August, but an Essex County Superior Court paused the bail order to sort out the conditions of her release. After hearing from Fitzsimmons’ mother, Lauren Page, on Monday, Judge Kathleen McCarthy Neyman granted Fitzsimmons’ release.
During the bail hearing, Fitzsimmons, who wore a black jacket and white shirt with her blonde hair pulled into a bun, remained stoic until McCarthy Neyman emphasized she could not see her son. At that point, Fitzsimmons looked down and began to tear up.
Asked about the delay, Timothy Bradl, a lawyer representing Fitzsimmons, said the judge took a “very careful approach.”
“We got Kelsey out of jail, and we’re thrilled about that,” he said outside the Salem courthouse. “The family here has gone to extraordinary lengths to make sure that they can show the court that Kelsey is safe and protected and is where she needs to be.”
On June 30, North Andover police arrived at Fitzsimmons’ home to serve her with a restraining order obtained earlier that day by her fiancé.
In an affidavit, Fitzsimmons’ fiancé said she had assaulted him and that he feared for the life of their infant son.
A hearing on the restraining order is slated for later this month.
While Fitzsimmons was packing up clothes for her son, police say she reached for a gun and attempted to fire it at one of the responding officers. She was shot once in the chest by the officer and taken to Massachusetts General Hospital, where she remained for more than a month.
At the bail hearing on Monday, Bradl asked McCarthy-Neyman to defer the order requiring Fitzsimmons to stay away from her son to the probate court.
The judge declined to do so, but said she would amend the order if needed.
Bradl has called the claims from Fitzsimmons’ fiancé “self-serving.”
“Her whole world was taken away from her because a guy went to the probate court … filled out a piece of paper, full of self-serving allegations, and got her baby,” he told reporters outside the courthouse. “Kelsey is very committed to showing this court, showing the judge that she’s fine, that she’s in control, that she’s not a danger. The only thing that’s been aggravating her postpartum [depression] is having her baby taken away.”
“We’re going to do everything we can to reunite Kelsey with her baby,” Bradl added.
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