A Massachusetts judge on Thursday, March 26, 2026, acquitted Kelsey Fitzsimmons, a former North Andover police officer, of assault with a dangerous weapon following a contentious bench trial stemming from a June 30, 2025, incident at her home. Fitzsimmons, 29, had faced up to five years in prison after being accused of pointing her service weapon at fellow officers who arrived to serve a restraining order.
Essex Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Karp presided over the non-jury trial, where he ultimately found that prosecutors had not met their burden of proof. The verdict concluded a case that highlighted the complexities of police responses to domestic incidents involving officers and mental health considerations.
The incident unfolded on the evening of June 30, 2025, when North Andover police officers responded to Fitzsimmons' residence to serve a restraining order. The order had been filed by her then-fiancé, Justin Aylaian, 32, a North Andover firefighter. Aylaian had sought full custody of the couple’s four-month-old son, alleging that Fitzsimmons posed a threat to herself, to him, and to their child.
Officer Patrick Noonan, a SWAT-trained member of the North Andover Police Department, testified that upon entering the home, Fitzsimmons pointed her service weapon at him and pulled the trigger. Noonan stated the gun made a clicking sound, indicating it had jammed. He further testified that Fitzsimmons then performed a "tap rack" maneuver, a technique used to clear a jammed firearm and chamber a round. This action, Noonan asserted, prompted him to discharge his own firearm, shooting Fitzsimmons in the chest.
Fitzsimmons, however, presented a different account during her testimony. She disputed Noonan's version of events entirely, though she admitted to deliberately misleading the responding officers about the location of her firearm, initially claiming it was in the basement when it was actually in her bedroom. She testified that she was blindsided by the restraining order, describing it as the moment she realized Aylaian was ending their relationship. During her testimony, Fitzsimmons conveyed the overwhelming sense of loss she felt, stating, "I saw my baby go, my fiancé, my dog, my house, and I knew that it was going to be my job, too."
Her defense attorney, Timothy Bradl, argued that Fitzsimmons was experiencing a severe mental health crisis, exacerbated by postpartum depression, and that her intent was to harm herself, not her colleagues. Bradl alleged that Officer Noonan used excessive force and suggested that Noonan had a motivation to adjust his account of events post-incident to avoid scrutiny.
During cross-examination, Noonan defended his actions and pushed back on the excessive force allegation. When asked by Bradl why he did not use a taser instead of his firearm, Noonan responded, "We meet deadly force with deadly force." He was also asked whether using deadly force on someone threatening only themselves is prohibited, to which he answered, "Absolutely." Noonan further told the court, "I think I was standing in her way for her to get downstairs and kill Justin." Prosecutors contended that the confrontation did not turn fatal for the officers only due to Noonan's SWAT training and the absence of a round in Fitzsimmons' weapon's chamber when she first pulled the trigger.
In delivering his verdict, Judge Karp noted the "unusual and somewhat perplexing" situation where he found the testimonies of both Fitzsimmons and Noonan to be largely credible. He acknowledged the "crucial and often thankless role" played by law enforcement officers and stated that Noonan "did the best he could under rapidly evolving circumstances." Despite these acknowledgments, Judge Karp concluded that the prosecution had failed to meet the required legal standard for conviction.
"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," Judge Karp stated, adding, "My verdict is, and must be, not guilty."
Following the verdict, Fitzsimmons embraced family members and her legal team. The incident left her severely injured, requiring more than 50 days of hospitalization and five surgeries. She also spent 103 days in jail and had to sell her home. In her first public statements after the acquittal, Fitzsimmons reflected on the ordeal: "I got shot. I went to jail for 103 days. I haven’t seen my son. I had to sell my home that I worked very hard for. So, this is my first breath of fresh air, and I feel like I can breathe again.”
