A Massachusetts police officer was injured in an altercation with a fellow officer while off-duty. The incident occurred when three officers arrived at the home of Kelsey Fitzsimmons, a 28-year-old North Andover officer and new mother, to serve her with a restraining order on Monday evening, according to Essex County District Attorney Paul Tucker.
During the process of serving the court order, an armed confrontation ensued. One of the responding officers discharged their weapon, resulting in Fitzsimmons being shot once. She was immediately airlifted to a Boston hospital, where she is currently in stable condition, Tucker confirmed.
The restraining order served to Fitzsimmons was a standard 209A order, designed to protect victims from abuse, as per state records. However, no additional information about the restraining order has been disclosed to the public.
Fitzsimmons, who got engaged to a North Andover firefighter last year, is also a new mother to a baby boy born on February 16, as reported by local CNHI. She holds a degree in criminal justice and has been serving with the North Andover Police Department for approximately a year and a half.
At the time of the incident, Fitzsimmons was on administrative leave and had applied to have her service weapon returned to her. The reason for her leave remains undisclosed.
Under the restraining order, the police officers were required to retrieve any firearms present in Fitzsimmons’ home. The court document filed against Fitzsimmons indicated that the Andover Police were aware that serving the restraining order could potentially be dangerous.
The document read, “Defendant is an officer with a license to carry. Plaintiff expressed concerns regarding Defendant’s reaction to being served.” However, Tucker did not confirm whether Fitzsimmons was armed during the confrontation.
The identity of the officer who shot Fitzsimmons remains unknown, but it was revealed that the officer had been serving in the department for over two decades.