Brown Deer to obtain independent review of Haughton encounters

BROWN DEER — The Village of Brown Deer announced on Friday, November 2nd it will obtain an independent review of its encounters with Radcliffe and Zina Haughton.

Radcliffe Haughton shot and killed three women and wounded four others when he walked into Azana Salon & Spa on Sunday morning, October 21st. He later turned the gun on himself. Records show Brown Deer police responded to the Haughton’s residence multiple times prior to the mass shooting in Brookfield.

Village officials hired Wisconsin Law Enforcement Instructor Robert Willis to conduct the review of all police contacts with the Haughtons within Brown Deer. Officials instructed Willis that he has “no restraints on the scope or depth of his review.”

The Brown Deer Village Manager Russell Van Gompel says he still has faith in the department but he wants to make sure the general public does too.  He said, “It was unfortunate lives were lost but what we want to do is gain the public’s trust and make sure the proper procedures were followed.”

Willis is currently an instructor at Northeast Wisconsin Technical College. He tells FOX6 News he is not going into the investigation with the intent of pointing fingers. But wants to look at all the evidence and see if something was missed. Willis said the review will be extensive, “I’ll be looking at every single contact ever with this individual that was made in Brown Deer, perhaps entire files from the Brookfield incident.”  Willis says that will include police reports, surveillance footage, live interviews with officers and any other documents Brown Deer Police can share as it relates to Radcliffe Haughton.

Neither one of them knew how long the review could take, but both promised a thorough investigation.

Monitor FOX6 News and FOX6Now.com for updates on this developing story.

Related stories:

• Zina Haughton’s attorney issues statement on events leading to spa shooting
• Gun and security expert says he would not have sold to Radcliffe Haughton
• Video, 911 calls released from incident involved Radcliffe, Zina Haughton
• Reports detail escalating domestic violence between Zina, Radcliffe Haughton