An off-duty Massachusetts police officer was shot and wounded in a confrontation with a fellow cop who was trying to serve her with an abuse prevention restraining order.
North Andover officer and new mom Kelsey Fitzsimmons, 28, was shot once when three officers arrived at her home on Monday evening to present her a restraining order, Essex County District Attorney Paul Tucker said during a news conference Tuesday.
“When one of the officers was escorting Ms. Fitzsimmons during the service of the court order, an armed confrontation took place,” Tucker told reporters.
“As a result of that armed confrontation, one of the responding officers discharged their weapon, which struck Ms. Fitzsimmons once.”
Fitzsimmons was rushed by helicopter to a Boston hospital, where she is listed in stable condition, the DA added.
The restraining order filed against Fitzsimmons was a standard 209A order, Tucker said, which is “designed to protect victims from abuse,” according to state records. No further details about the restraining order were made public.
Fitzsimmons got engaged late last year to a North Andover firefighter and has a baby boy, who was born on Feb. 16, local CNHI reported.
She has a degree in criminal justice and has served with the North Andover Police Department for about a year and a half.
She was on administrative leave at the time of the shooting, and had filed to have her service weapon returned to her. The reason she was on leave was not clear.
Under the restraining order filed against Fitzsimmons, the police officers would have had to retrieve any firearms inside the plaintiff’s home, the DA pointed out.
The abuse prevention order that was filed in court against Fitzsimmons indicated that Andover Police were well-aware that serving the restraining order could be dangerous, WBZ-TV reported.
“Defendant is an officer with a license to carry. Plaintiff expressed concerns regarding Defendant’s reaction to being served,” the court document read.
Tucker declined to say if Fitzsimmons was armed during the confrontation with police.
It remains unclear who shot Fitzsimmons, but the DA said the officer had been with the department for more than 20 years.
