Local News
“Chief Gray has proven unable to fulfill the basic qualifications of an effective leader. Unfortunately, the consequences are landing squarely on our officers and our Town.”
Kelsey Fitzsimmons, after being found not guilty. Tim Jean/The Eagle-Tribune, Pool
On the heels of Kelsey Fitzsimmons’s acquittal, the unions representing North Andover police passed a vote of no confidence in the department’s chief Wednesday, citing a pattern of leadership failures including the department’s lack of body-worn cameras.
More than 90 percent of the members of both the North Andover Patrol Officers Union and the Sergeants Union are calling for “the immediate removal” of Chief Charles Gray, who has led the department since 2016.
“We can no longer remain silent while operating under a toxic culture of vindictiveness and professional stagnation,” the unions said in a press release Wednesday. “Chief Gray has proven unable to fulfill the basic qualifications of an effective leader. Unfortunately, the consequences are landing squarely on our officers and our Town.”
North Andover Police Chief Charles Gray. (Camilo Fonseca/The Boston Globe)
The union specifically pointed to “low morale and broken trust,” “administrative incompetence,” and a “lack of accountability … while officers face public scrutiny.”
Gray did not return a request for comment Wednesday evening.
Fitzsimmons, a former North Andover police officer, was shot by a colleague, Officer Patrick Noonan, at her home last summer after she allegedly pointed a gun at him as officers attempted to serve a restraining order against her. She was charged with assault with a dangerous weapon, but the defense claimed she only pointed the gun at her own head in a suicide attempt.
Fitzsimmons was acquitted late last month.
The fact that North Andover police officers do not wear body cameras became a central part of the case, the judge said. Judge Jeffrey Karp — who decided the case after Fitzsimmons waived her right to a jury trial— said he found the testimonies of both Fitzsimmons and Noonan credible.
“Perhaps the commonwealth could have easily met its burden if the officers had been wearing body cameras,” Karp said, Boston.com previously reported. “But under these circumstances, I am left with a reasonable doubt.”
Also since her acquittal, the police department’s Facebook page was deactivated after an “unauthorized” comment seemingly from the department was posted about the case.
No confidence vote comes after 2020 report into North Andover chief’s leadership
After the vote of no confidence, the unions blamed Gray’s “outright inaction” to address the need for body-worn cameras, which the unions said they have spent years advocating for. Pointing to the Fitzsimmons case, the unions said the lack of cameras “negatively impacted the outcome of this case, our members and our town.”
The unions pointed to more of Gray’s so-called “failures,” including not approving a “comprehensive Officer-involved Shooting policy” for more than a year because Gray apparently said it was “too wordy.” This was particularly troubling, the unions said, pointing to an April 2024 incident where an officer was injured during a stand-off when gunfire hit a police cruiser. Metal shards from the car struck the officer in the head.
A management review of Gray was completed in 2020, the union said, “after the unions raised very similar concerns to Town Management about Chief Gray and his concerning leadership within the department.” Gray has allegedly ignored the recommendations made in the report, the union said, prompting the no confidence vote.
The town manager did not return a request for comment or for more details regarding the 2020 report.
Since Fitzsimmons was acquitted, she is now planning to file a civil lawsuit against town officials.
Molly Farrar is a general assignment reporter for Boston.com, focusing on education, politics, crime, and more.
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