Kelsey Fitzsimmons off Massachusetts duty cop shot by fellow North Andover police officers suspended as she awaits formal charges against her including attempted murder as her lawyer claims she’s victim of smear campaign.
The Massachusetts cop who was off duty when she was shot after an armed confrontation with her fellow officers with the North Andover police department while attempting to serve her a restraining order has been suspended. The suspension comes amid looming charges, including attempted murder that her lawyer claims she will ‘vehemently’ fight.
Kelsey Fitzsimmons, 28, was ordered on Monday to turn in her police uniform, badge, firearm and other equipment following the July 1 incident, according to the state’s watchdog group.
Fitzsimmons’ suspension ‘is effective immediately,’ Commission Executive Director Enrique Zuniga wrote in his order on Monday according to according to Boston25News.
Police officer mental health
While the reason for her suspension was redacted from the document, Zuniga wrote the Commission ‘has received sufficient evidence’ for the action.
Fitzsimmons, whose lawyer claimed she was suffering from postpartum depression, was charged with armed assault with intent to murder and two counts of assault with a dangerous weapon, on July 3, the Essex County District Attorney’s office said.
Stated the DA’s office at the time of the armed confrontation involving Fitzsimmons, ‘We worry deeply about the mental health of our officers. These are humans, these are police officers who have to make quick decisions.’
The restraining order was filed by Fitzsimmons’ firefighter fiancee, Justin Aylaian, who stated he feared ‘she will kill the baby at any moment.’
The female police officer had only been with the department for about 18 months and was on administrative leave when her fellow officers arrived at her residence to present her the abuse prevention restraining order.
Kelsey Fitzsimmons lawyer claims she’s victim of smear campaign
The groom-to-be said he was afraid Fitzsimmons would kill their 4-month-old son and herself following a series of ‘disturbing’ incidents including punching her stomach while pregnant and with Fitzsimmons allegedly saying she ‘would kill herself and the baby,’ according to the fiancee.
The firefighter alerted police that Fitzsimmons, who had previously been committed to a hospital for postpartum depression, would not take it well when they presented her with the restraining order.
On the day of the serving of the order of protection, Fitzsimmons engaged in an ‘armed confrontation’ with the three officers who arrived at her home on July 1 to present her with the restraining order.
The off-duty cop was shot in the chest during the conflict and remains in ‘grave condition,’ according to her lawyer, Timothy Bradl.
Bradl claimed Fitzsimmons was suffering from mental health issues and has been the victim of a ‘smear campaign’, accusing North Andover police of missing her cries for help and botching the July 1 encounter.
‘She was confronted by three men from her department, and in an instant her baby, her job and her future with her [fiancé] were all taken from her,’ Bradl said in a statement.
‘She needed help. She needed compassion,’ Bradl said. ‘What she got instead was gunfire and now, an appalling campaign to criminalize her in order to deflect accountability from the agency responsible for this botched response.’
The attorney indicated that his client plans to fight the charges.
Fitzsimmons has yet to be formally charged as she wait her arraignment. No court date has yet been set for the fallen officer.
Stated the DA’s office at the time of the armed confrontation involving Fitzsimmons, ‘We worry deeply about the mental health of our officers. These are humans, these are police officers who have to make quick decisions. This should not go unnoticed or unappreciated by the public.’
Fitzsimmons and Aylaian, had planned a wedding in Maine for this fall, according to an online wedding registry that has since been taken down.
