Cop Shot Inside Her Home Now at Center of Explosive Trial

When I met up with Officer Houston. >> Officer Houston. >> Boxing her in When I met up with Officer. Houston. >> talk when I'm talking, sir. That right there. that is the tension inside a courtroom. where former cop Kelsey Fitzsimmons. [music] is on trial for pointing a gun. at one of her own colleagues, Officer. Patrick Noonan, who ended up shooting. her after he [music] says she pulled the. trigger. Now, this trial has been picking up some. [music] serious steam. People watching. every moment, following every twist. So,

we're going to break down some of the. biggest moments [music] so far. Welcome. to Sidebar, presented by Law & Crime. I'm Jesse Weber. By the way, we talked so much about the. dangers out there. What about this? How. about a stranger finding out and using. anything about your private life? Pretty. scary, right? Your name, your phone. number, your address, it's all out. there, which is why I want everybody who. follows us here on Sidebar to keep your. data safe online. Our sponsor, Incogni, can do that. They track down all of.

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plan. All right, here is a brand new. trial out of Massachusetts that we have. been following that is already getting a. lot of attention. And by the way, it is. getting intense. It's getting a lot of. like Karen Reed level attention. It. involves a police officer, her fiance, a. restraining order, and a shooting that. happened right inside her own home. We're talking about Kelsey Fitzsimmons. She was an off-duty cop working with the. Andover police when three of her. colleagues showed up to serve her with a. restraining order that was filed by her.

fiance. Now, he was taking custody of. their 4-month-old son. What happened. next after those officers showed up that. is now at the center of this case. That's the question. And it has. Fitzsimmons now standing trial facing a. charge of assault with a dangerous. weapon. Now, the prosecution says that. she pointed her service weapon at one of. the officers and pulled the trigger. That's the allegation. The defense says, "Wait a second. She never pointed it at. him at all, and that she was just trying. to do something else with that weapon.".

No body cameras, apparently. Just two. people in that courtroom, Kelsey. Fitzsimmons and the fellow officer who. seemingly shot her, Patrick Noonan. Noonan took the stand, described that. powerful moment when he says all of this. went down. She reappeared with a gun and. pointed it right at me and pulled the. trigger. I screamed her name. Uh I was completely. shocked. She had the drop on me. Now, there is surveillance video from inside. the house. And I'll say it captures. something pretty crucial. It's from the.

basement. You see there Justin Elaine, that's Kelsey's fiance, moving around, gathering items. And then just watch. this. His head snaps up. He drops what. he's holding. A few seconds later, he's. running out of the basement, through the. garage, out of the house. Whatever just. happened upstairs, he seemingly heard. it. And this video is the closest thing. we have to a timeline of those final. moments. Now, Noonan was actually back on the. stand earlier today. And the defense's. line of questioning is hinging on this. idea that Noonan didn't calmly assess a.

threat, but rather that he panicked. He. saw a gun, reacted and then to and then. had to adjust the story to justify what. he did. Defense attorney Tim Bradl. started his cross-examination by going. after that very idea. And that is when. things got pretty tense fast. When I met up with. >> Sectioning her Officer. >> Boxing her in When I met up with Officer. Houston. >> talk when I'm talking, sir. Um let's. let's um let's not argue back and forth. I can just ask your questions, and you.

can just wait to um to answer till he's. done. So, if you're new to this case, this is. where things stand. On Monday, June. 30th, 2025, three North Andover officers. went to Kelsey Fitzsimmons' home to. serve a restraining order. And her. fiance, Justin, had filed it that same. day claiming that he feared for their. 4-month-old son because of what he. described as disturbing messages from. Kelsey and his belief that her behavior. had become concerning leading to the. weekend before all this went down. So, the officers were there to take custody.

of the child, remove her firearms. But. what started as what was supposed to be. a routine service quickly turned into. something no one expected. In his. opening statement, prosecutor James. Gubitosi laid out the Commonwealth's. case. And in a nutshell, it's this, that. Kelsey Fitzsimmons pointed her service. weapon at a fellow officer and pulled. the trigger. Ms. Fitzsimmons comes to the door. holding her 4-month-old child. They go. into the house. They explain to her.

um what has happened, that there was a. restraining order. That there's going to be a hearing. on July 14th where she'd be able to tell. her side of the story. And she tells the officer, "I know how this all works.". They ask her. where her firearm's at. And she lies to them. And she She tells. them they're in the basement. She's on her knees. She's gathering things. He notices at some point that.

her demeanor changes. She gets upset. At that point, she lunges to her right. Forward and to her right. And he can't see what she grabs, but she. grabs a firearm. Turns out to be her service weapon. She comes back. She raises it. Before Officer Noonan can do anything, she pulls the trigger as it's.

leveled at his face. and it goes to fire. It goes to click. Excuse me. It does not. fire. The gun hadn't fired, and so she was. doing what the officers would will. describe to you as a tap rack. She had the gun in her hand. She bangs the magazine. and attempts to rack it. She's unsuccessful the first time. Officer Noonan is still telling her,

pleading with her, trying to de-. de-escalate de-escalate. He tells her, "Don't do it.". She does it again, racks around. As she's. picking up the gun. raising the gun, Officer Noonan fires. He fires twice. But defense attorney Timothy Bradl told. the court the evidence will show. something very different, that Kelsey. Fitzsimmons never pointed the gun at. Noonan at all. Kelsey, no.

Kelsey, no. You don't say that. when you're staring at the muzzle of a. gun pointed at you. You say that to a person. who has a gun to their head. On June 30th, 2025. um Ms. Fitzsimmons' entire world. imploded, was destroyed when her fiance. Justin Elaine.

obtained a restraining order behind her. back. with unchallenged, untested allegations. at the Essex Probate Court. And he took away. at 4:30 in the afternoon. took away custody of her 4-month-old. The evidence will show that Kelsey never. pointed a gun at him. and that this was a mistake. It was a brain freeze. It was a. mechanical thing. It was someone seeing.

a gun and shooting. Here's the problem. I said it earlier, there's no body cameras to tell us which. version is true. Obviously, that would. have helped. And here's something else. that matters. Kelsey Fitzsimmons waived. her right to a jury trial. That means. there's no jury in this case, just one. person. It's a bench trial. It's Judge. Jeffrey Karp deciding her fate. A lot of. reasons people would do this. Sometimes. they think if it's a complicated legal. issue, maybe it's better for a judge to. decide this as opposed to a jury who you. know, could be swayed by emotions, maybe.

they're not as familiar with the law. So, you don't have 12 people in a box. It's just important to keep in mind as. you hear these witnesses because they're. not talking to the jury. And arguably. one of the most important witnesses the. man who pulled the trigger, Officer. Patrick Noonan. Noonan testified that. he'd been with North Andover PD for. years. He was a SWAT team member, a. firearms instructor, trained in stress. shooting. So, this is somebody who by. all accounts shouldn't panic, right? This is not somebody who should be under. duress and just wantonly fire their. weapon. So, in other words, when.

officers were looking for somebody to. serve this restraining order Noonan. claimed he was picked for his experience. and his calm under pressure. So, on June. 30th, Noonan and two other officers went. to Kelsey Fitzsimmons' home. They. knocked. She answered. She was holding. her 4-month-old son. They explained the. restraining order. They told her they. were taking custody of the baby, removing her firearms. And she told them. that her guns were in the basement. But. as they moved through the house. Noonan noticed something.

Uh I noticed her duty belt on the couch. So, I went and checked that. Um there. was no firearm in there. And I observed. a um. uh. like a gun case on a mantel. I opened. that up, and there was no gun. Kelsey told him again, "The guns are in. the basement." And then she apparently. asked if she could gather some things. for the baby. And Noonan says she. actually handed him the baby. Uh she went to gather some belongings. for um their son.

and she came up and handed me the baby. Um he was screaming. I was trying to. calm him down. Um I believe she gave me his bottle and. I was trying to feed him. Um but I. thinking it it can't be too comfortable. I wear an outer carrier vest and I have. all my equipment in the front. So. it was kind of hard to. cradle him. Now Noonan testified he. eventually handed the baby off to. another officer. Kelsey wanted to go. upstairs to pack more clothes for her. son. So Noonan and another officer.

apparently apparently followed her. He. stayed on the landing. She went into her. bedroom and he apparently watched her. from the doorway. Yes, she was on one. knee when she was uh wrapping up the. clothes. And she pushed off with with her left. foot and lunged behind the door frame. So to my left to her right. She reappeared with a gun and pointed it. right at me and pulled the trigger. Okay. Can you describe or show us how she did. that? Uh yep. So when she came around.

the frame here, she she came up and. click. Okay. Where was it pointed? Uh my face. Okay. Um after it clicked, what happened? I screamed her name. I was completely. shocked. She had the drop on me. Okay, so that gun didn't fire. Noonan says she. cleared the jam, what's called a tap. rack, and he was screaming at her to. stop. I drew my weapon. She was already. backpedaling and she was doing what we. call a tap rack. Um.

basically when you do a tap rack, that's. when your gun malfunctions. So when you tap the magazine, you want. to make sure it's properly seated in the. magazine well. And then you rack the. upper receiver or the. the the slide. She did it twice. So the. first time she did it I I I um it was it. was slow motion. I could see her hand. slide off the the the the top of the. uh receiver. Uh she started moving her way around the.

bed and she began tap racking again and. I was yelling at her, "Don't do it. Don't do it." And then what happened? Uh. she after she um successfully got a. round in the chamber, her right arm. started to come up and uh I shot twice. in rapid succession. So after the shots, Noonan says that he and the other. officers rushed to help her and he. remembers her saying one word. We. immediately started um first aid. Okay. How so? Uh putting pressure on the.

wound. Uh we wanted to see if there was. an exit wound uh which there was. Uh so we were trying to stop the. bleeding. Um Lieutenant. or Lieutenant um Officer Houston came. running upstairs with a med kit. Uh Lieutenant Daley started to wrap the. wounds in uh gauze. And then Officer Court came into the. room and I ordered him to secure the. weapon. Did you hear the defendant saying. anything um after she was on the ground?

Um it hurts. And I said, "Just keep breathing. You. have a baby to live for.". Okay, but then you go back to. cross-examination, right? And Timothy. Bradl kept pressing. This time on the. shooting itself. In court, Noonan said. he fired twice in rapid succession, but. this defense attorney pointed out that. his initial statement to police may have. told a very different story. Who did you get a call from? Officer. Houston. And what was that call about? That's the next question. And your. answer was, "He had asked me if.

Lieutenant Daley reached out to me. I. said no.". Officer Houston said, "Hey, can you meet. me at the CCC?" Which is a little grade. school behind the Atkinson School. He said, "We have to serve papers to. Officer Kelsey." I said, "Okay, sounds. good." And I drove over to that location. and met up with him. Right? And you knew those papers were. a restraining order for. Kelsey to. give up the baby, give up her guns,

lose her job. I had Brought by her fiance, right? I. had no idea what was entailed in the. restraining order at that time. At what point did you did you learn the. job here? Uh as far as the restraining order? As. far as this job you were going to do at. Kelsey's house. What job? The restraining order service, taking. the baby, finding the guns, When I met up with sectioning her, Officer. >> boxing her in, when I met up with.

Officer Houston. Don't talk when I'm. talking, sir. Box Sorry. Okay. Let's let's let's not argue back and. forth. Can you just ask your questions? Can you just wait to to answer till he's. done? Um if you can restate, thank you. Sure. So you asked me what the what the job. was. So my suggestion is that the job is. serving the restraining order, going to get the baby, finding the guns. You thought about boxing her and taking. her into custody. You thought about.

sectioning her. That job. Uh when I met up with Officer Houston. behind the CCC. And at that point you knew what you were. getting into, right? After he explained uh what was going on. and we were pretty shocked. In. all of the statements you've made prior. to. being here yesterday and today,

you've never said. that you were pretty shocked about. anything, have you? I don't I don't recall. You weren't shocked. You were treating. this like a video game, weren't you? No. Let's talk about the bedroom and the. shots. that you fired. Here in court you said that um. those shots were in rapid fire. Uh rapid succession. Yes, okay. And. like a boom boom? Yes. Okay.

Now, that's not what you said to the. state police though, is it? That was 8 months ago, right around. there. I I don't recall. I said I shot twice, possibly. You told. the state police. that you pulled the trigger. This is uh 12:32 in the audio. You told the police.

that you pulled the trigger. once. You said the word once. And then you said, "I kept giving. commands.". And then you said, "I pulled the trigger. again.". That's a completely different scenario. than two shots in rapid succession, isn't it? Uh. as far as. the time frame, [clears throat]. I was trying to be.

I was trying to recall. the event. uh as best as possible. So it's fair to say that. talking then is. it's right after the incident. And now. you're here in court. Both of those propositions can't be. true, can they? I'm sorry. What What The proposition.

I'll rephrase it. The proposition that. you said here in court that you made two. shots in rapid succession. Yes. And. what you said on July 3rd, one shot, giving some commands, another. shot. Both of those things can't be true, can. they? They can be true. They can be true. Yes. So rapid succession and then what? You. you talked really fast. before the second shot? >> Oh, I was I was giving commands. Don't. do it. Don't do it. Well, that's not. what you said. You said you pulled the. trigger once. I kept giving commands. I.

pulled the trigger again. Yes. So. they're two different assertions, aren't. they? No. Okay. Okay, so then this defense attorney. shifts to the moments before the. shooting, pointing out that Kelsey had. been trying to get Noonan to leave the. room. That she kept handing him items, asking him to take them downstairs. And. the defense says that's not the behavior. of someone about to attack. It's someone. trying to get officers out of the room.

When you were upstairs with Kelsey, she kept giving you things and asking. you to take them downstairs, didn't she? That's correct. And she did that with Houston as well, right? Yes. So it's fair to say that she was trying. to. get you away from her, right? I don't know what her mindset was. I. wasn't going to leave her alone. Sure. Let me ask you a better question. The effect of that would have been if. you took things downstairs, that you.

would have left her. Yes, that's. correct. >> Okay. That's not consistent with her trying to. kill you, is it? She's trying to get rid. of you. Can you ask that question again? The fact that she's trying to remove you. from the area where her gun is.

is not consistent with her trying to. kill you, is it? Uh. at that point, no. And then this defense attorney went. after the most glaring detail. Noonan. missed. A 20-year veteran, SWAT trained, firearms instructor from close range. The defense says that is not the mark of. a cool, collected, calculated. professional. They say that is evidence. of panic. So, you're a.

very well-trained SWAT officer. Yes? Yes. You're a firearms instructor. No. You're a You're a patrol instructor. Will you instruct other officers on the. job, right? >> Field training officer. >> Field training officer. Thank you. >> And you've been doing this for 25 years. No. 20 years. Right around there, yes. Okay. So, you've been doing this for 20. years. And one of your thought processes. was that you wanted to.

give your training and experience back. to the North Andover PD where you. started, right? Uh yes, and and come. back where where I started. And here. >> [clears throat]. >> your first shot, you missed her from. about 7 ft away. I did. Uh it was longer. than 7 ft. It was at that point about 15. ft. 15 ft. >> I would say. Do you have any. measurements on this at No, but if you. remove the bed and and you were to walk. diagonal from where I shot, it was.

probably around 15. So, the first shot. you missed her and you hit the air. conditioner. Is that right? Or Or do you know? >> I I didn't know where it went. Okay. And. then finally, this defense attorney. asked the question that gets to the. heart of the defense's case. If Kelsey. was pointing the gun at Noonan and he. shot her in the chest, she would have. fallen backward. So, how did the gun end. up under her leg? The defense says it's. because she wasn't pointing it at him. She's got the gun out in front of her.

>> [clears throat]. >> She falls on her back. If the gun's underneath her, is this some sort of a magic gun? I don't know where you're getting at. Doesn't. Doesn't it make sense that if the gun is. out here and she's receives a force of a. 9 mm bullet swinging her back this way, how does the gun get all the way behind. her and under her leg? I have no idea. It's the way she fell. Okay, from there we go to the man who.

set all of this in motion, Justin, right? Kelsey's fiance, the father of. her child, the man who walked into a. courthouse in the morning of June 30th. and filed that restraining order that. sent those officers to her door. When he. took the stand, his testimony was very. emotional and under cross-examination, things got pretty personal. You know, he. started from the beginning how he and. Kelsey met. Uh it was September of 2023. Uh she had reached out to me on. Facebook. Uh she had seen a picture of. me posted on the North Andover Fire.

Department page and she was recently. going to be getting hired as a North. Andover police officer and she reached. out to me on Facebook. Fair to say you developed a relationship. with her. We did very quickly, yes. Okay. Um at some point, um did you uh. did it become more than casual? Yeah, uh became more than casual very. quickly. Um. Both of us developed feelings very. quickly uh and that and that developed. into a relationship very quickly as. well. And it was about roughly 6 months.

after that we had initially met that I. had um then Kelsey and I had moved in. together. At some point, uh you guys. were living together. Um. did um. you had a baby. That is correct. >> Okay. And um. when was a a boy or girl? Boy. Okay. Um how old is that? He is 13 months old. At some point, and I'm going to turn. your attention to the weekend of um. uh July 28th, 29th going into Monday the.

30th, okay? Okay. Had um did um your. relationship become strained in any way? Just yes or no. Yes. Okay. Um and as a result of that, um. did you um decide to do something on. June 30th that Monday? Yes, I end up. obtaining a restraining order. >> Okay. And he told the court that leading. up to that day, he was getting messages. from Kelsey that were concerning him. At. some point, were you communicating with. the defendant at all? Yes. How How so?

Uh it started in the morning. Uh it. started over It was both text and phone. calls. uh that we were going back and forth. with each other. Uh I had requested to. um. see my son. I wanted to make sure that. he was okay. Um she had sent many disturbing messages. back and forth to me. At any point, did you go back there to. retrieve some items, the guns, or. anything like that? Yes, the day prior, uh. I went I I had gone to obtain I I needed.

I knew that I needed to pick up my. firearms. Uh I had feared for my son and I thought. that his life was in danger and grave. risk. Now, that part about going back to. the house, that's very important because. the defense picked up on that and. pressed him on that during. cross-examination. We're going to come. back to that, but on the day of the. shooting, he claims Kelsey was trying to. get him to meet her. Now, I'm going to turn your attention. Now that we're on the 20th 29th, I'm. going to turn your attention to the. 30th. You had stated that you had been. calling and texting uh the defendant.

throughout that day, correct? Yes. Um. were there any plans attempted to be. made by anyone? She had made several attempts to try to. get me to meet her at the common um. via via text message. Uh she had reached. out and said, "Can we meet the common at. 2:00 p.m.?" My initial response back to. that was, "For what?" She then again. tried to get me to reason with me to. meet me at the common again. At that.

point, I said I had no gas. There was no. way for me to get there. Um. and she tried to meet up at several. points and I told her that I was not. comfortable. I I did not feel. comfortable being being alone with you. At some point, did you make your way to. North Andover? I did, yes. Why? I I felt that my son's life was in grave. danger and that imminent harm may come. to him in the hands of Kelsey. Okay. And. here's the real pivotal moment in how it. unfolded. While Kelsey was upstairs with.

Noonan, her mother had apparently. arrived at the house and was downstairs. holding the baby. So, Justin and his. sister Courtney, they pull up, they walk. in. Courtney took the baby outside to. the car. Justin went back inside to grab. a suitcase from the basement and that is. when he apparently heard it, the moment. that we showed you earlier from this. surveillance footage where Justin says. that he was in the basement when he. heard something and that changed. everything. Uh I immediately heard an officer's. commands. Uh I I heard an officer scream. out, "Stop! Don't do it!".

At that point, I what I believe I I had. heard several gunshots ring out and I. heard uh Kelsey's mother screaming. I I got into my vehicle. I believe I had. made eye contact very briefly with. Officer Houston who was grabbing his. medical bag out of his patrol vehicle. I. got into my truck and I I immediately uh. pulled a U-turn and drove where I heard. where I saw my sister running from. Uh once I got to the other end of the. school, I had stopped my vehicle and at.

that point, I didn't see which direction. my sister had gone. So, I had stood. outside of my car yelling her name uh. repeatedly. I I wasn't sure where she. was or if she was okay. And And then at some point, did she. appear? She did appear. She came running. out behind uh another house across the. way and she came running over towards. me. And what happened when she got to you? She got in the vehicle um and then we we. quickly we we drove down the road to get. away towards uh Mass Ave in North. Andover. Now, the defense then took.

Justin back to the day before the. shooting, June 29th, and this is where. things got very interesting. You visited the house on the 29th. to retrieve your guns, right? Yes. In. fact, that was your grandfather's safe, wasn't it? Yes, sir. And you wanted to. take that with you, didn't you? I did, yes, sir. >> And you took Kelsey's guns out of that. safe and you put them on the bed. so that you could take only your guns. and your grandfather's safe, isn't that. correct? I did not take the gun safe,

sir. Isn't that what your intention was. until Kelsey asked you not to? I did leave the gun safe, yes, sir. You left it because Kelsey asked you to. leave it because she needed a place to. safely keep her guns, right? I don't know if that was her intention, sir. So, why does that matter? Because. Justin says he feared for his son's. life. He was so scared that he went to. court to get a restraining order, but. the day before all of that, he was. inside Kelsey's house moving her guns. around and then he left them there. So, the defense is asking, if you really.

thought she was that dangerous, why. would you just leave her with her. weapons, right? And the defense went. after Justin's credibility also from a. different angle, his job. More. importantly, that he was under. investigation or apparently under. investigation for something that was. allegedly caught on video. Sir, you're not on the schedule and. you're not presently uh able to work for. that department, isn't that right? Yes, sir. And the reason you were. placed on suspension or administrative.

leave, whatever you call it, is because you have been caught on video. many, many times using drugs that are in. violation of your department and the. town policy, correct? Allegations were. placed against me and the town has. responsibility to do their due diligence. and investigate that matter. So, that's. a yes? Why not? Yes, sir. Okay, so here's what's at stake. If the. judge rules in favor of the Commonwealth. and believes Patrick Noonan's version of.

events that Kelsey pointed a gun at him. and pulled the trigger, she could be. looking at up to 10 years in prison. If. he believes the defense that she never. pointed it at anyone, that this was a. mistake, that there was a panic. situation, she walks. So, you can check. out our Gavel gavel coverage of this. case on Law&Crime's YouTube channel. That's all we have for you right now. here on Sidebar. Everybody, thank you so. much for joining us and as always, please subscribe on YouTube, Apple. Podcast, Spotify, wherever you should. get your podcast. You can also check us. out on NBC's Peacock as well. We got. Sidebar episodes up there, too. If you.

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