Kelsey Fitzsimmons, the Massachusetts cop who was shot by a fellow officer and then charged with assaulting him, won a stunning courtroom victory Thursday when a judge acquitted her. 

Judge Jeffrey Karp, rather than a jury, rendered the verdict on a single count of assault with a dangerous weapon after three days of testimony in the case against the North Andover police officer.

Outside court afterward, Fitzsimmons told reporters of her harrowing months since the shooting and said she “can breathe again” following the acquittal.

“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. This is my first breath of fresh air and I feel like I can breathe again,” she said.

Fitzsimmons, 29, has said she was suffering from severe postpartum depression four months after giving birth when three cops from her own department showed up at her house in June 2025 to serve her with a restraining order from her fiancé removing her infant son from her care — and even taking away her dog. 

During a confrontation in her bedroom with Officer Patrick Noonan, she pulled out her service weapon. She said she was pointing it at her own head in an attempt to kill herself. 

On Wednesday, Fitzsimmons told the judge: “I wanted to be alone with my firearm and take my life. I made that decision when I realized I had just lost everything in a 15-second conversation with my co-worker.”

Noonan alleged that she pointed the gun at him and he believed she was trying to kill him or her fiancé downstairs. 

Fitzsimmons remained stoic as the judge explained his decision — and said both accounts of what happened were credible.

“What has made my job especially difficult in this case is that, by and large, I found the testimony of Officer Noonan and Ms. Fitzsimmons to be credible on the material and relevant points,” the judge said moments before acquitting her. “In my experience, this is unusual and somewhat perplexing.”

In his judgement, Karp also noted that prosecutors might have been able to “easily” prove the case “if the officers had been wearing body cameras.”

“But under these circumstances, I’m left with a reasonable doubt and I’m duty-bound to find that the Commonwealth has not met its burden to prove that Ms. Fitzsimmons committed an assault by means of a dangerous weapon on Officer Noonan. And my verdict is and must be not guilty.”

After the decision, Fitzsimmons said she would now fight to regain custody of her son.

“I need to reunite with my son,” Fitzsimmons said, adding that when she was in jail, she lay on a mat crying “day after day.”

She said her fiancé, Justin Aylaian, essentially broke up with her by taking out the restraining order as their wedding was just months away. She was going to have to fight to keep custody of her son and dog and she would no longer be able to afford her house if Aylaian moved out. She also believed the restraining order would ensure she lost her job.

“My baby gone, my fiancé, my dog and my house and I knew it was going to be my job too. Whatever I was accused of wasn’t good because there was a restraining order,” she said.

So she decided to try to get the three cops out of her way so they wouldn’t be involved or harmed during the act, she said.

Karp said Thursday that Fitzsimmons showed she was “a dedicated public servant” who reacted to “sudden, confusing and heartbreaking news.”

The judge also said he “saw no evidence of conspiracy” by the law enforcement involved in her case.

Noonan testified that as Fitzsimmons was in her bedroom, packing items to send with her son, she lunged behind her door and grabbed something, before stepping back and aiming the weapon straight at him.

He heard a “click” noise before she “tap racked” twice to force a round into the chamber. And when she did, Noonan fired off two rounds until she dropped the gun and hit the floor, he claimed.

Fitzsimmons’ lung was punctured by the shot and she had to be airlifted to Mass General Hospital, where she would spend over 50 days recovering, following five surgeries.

During closing arguments Thursday morning, prosecutor James Gubitose dramatically held up Fitzsimmons’ empty gun, pointing it toward the front of the courtroom and pressing the trigger, causing a clicking noise.

He claimed she lied when she testified that she never tap racked the gun, since an officer at the scene emptied the firearm into a black box, with a round falling out of the chamber — indicating she had loaded a bullet.

Aylaian also took the witness stand, claiming he sought the order against Fitzsimmons out of fear that she might harm herself or their son.

Fitzsimmons’ defense attorney, Timothy Bradl, claimed Fitzsimmons had no motive to kill Noonan, a friend with whom she’d gone on tough emergency calls and who she knew had a wife and kid.

Bradl called Noonan’s account of what happened “sloppy” and inconsistent, mocking it as a story that could have come straight out of a “Rambo” movie.

“Backpedaling, sidestepping, tap racking,” Bradl said, repeating some of what Noonan claimed about Fitzsimmons’ movements in the moment before he shot her.

“He’s the only one with the ‘Rambo’ story,” Bradl said of Noonan. “Everyone else has what Kelsey says. He walks into a suicide in progress, ‘Kelsey, no. Kelsey, no.’ Bam bam. Brain freeze. He has to cover it up immediately.”

Essex County District Attorney Paul F. Tucker said in a statement Thursday he doesn’t agree with the judge’s decision.

“The indictment against Kelsey Fitzsimmons was brought in good faith, supported by credible
police testimony, and corroborated by the physical evidence,” Tucker said. “While respecting the judge’s verdict, we disagree.”

If you are struggling with suicidal thoughts or are experiencing a mental health crisis and live in New York City, you can call 1-888-NYC-WELL for free and confidential crisis counseling.
If you live outside the five boroughs, you can dial the 24/7 National Suicide Prevention hotline at 1-800-273-8255 or go to SuicidePreventionLifeline.org.