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Before its head of security killed a patron in 2022, bouncers at the Halifax Alehouse had been told not to get physical with bargoers in light of several alleged assaults involving door staff, according to documents obtained by CBC News.
The documents, many of which are redacted, are from an investigation conducted by Nova Scotia’s alcohol, gaming, fuel and tobacco division and were obtained through a freedom of information request.
The investigation was triggered by the Dec. 24, 2022, death of Ryan Sawyer, who died after being put in a chokehold by an Alehouse bouncer for approximately two minutes. Investigators also looked into three other alleged assaults involving Alehouse bouncers earlier that year.
Bouncers instructed not to be ‘hands on’
An email exchange between provincial investigators in the days following Sawyer’s death indicated bouncers at the Alehouse had previously been told to not put their hands on patrons.
“Just wondering if [redacted] comments to you about [redacted] instruction to security staff not going ‘hands on’ was in an email?” wrote compliance officer Kris Hebert in an email to alcohol, gaming, fuel and tobacco manager Andrew MacLean on Jan. 5, 2023.
MacLean responded he learned about the instruction to bouncers through a phone call on Dec. 24, 2022, to request copies of video surveillance.
“[Redacted] had recently spoke with [redacted] door staff and discussed not going hands on, only in a situation where they needed to hold the person until police arrived,” MacLean wrote in the email to Hebert.
“This was also related to our conversation about [redacted] door staff being charged earlier in the fall with assault.”
The results of the investigations were not made public because the Alehouse’s owners reached a settlement with the division, which resulted in the bar being closed and, ultimately, sold.
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Neither MacLean nor Hebert responded to interview requests from CBC News. A spokesperson said officials with the division cannot comment due to ongoing legal matters.
The division’s investigation is separate from the criminal and civil matters involving Alehouse staff.
Last month, former bouncer Alexander Levy was sentenced to four years in prison after being found guilty of manslaughter and criminal negligence causing Sawyer’s death.
He has since been granted bail as he appeals his conviction and sentence.
Alehouse has ‘fostered a hostile environment’
At least two Alehouse bouncers continued to work at the bar after being charged criminally and were involved in subsequent allegations.
One bouncer was charged with assault causing bodily harm for allegedly breaking a patron’s wrist in July 2022.
Two bouncers, including Levy, were charged with assault in relation to an incident involving a patron outside the bar in October of that year.
Despite being charged, Levy still held the position of head of security when Sawyer was killed two months later.
Crown prosecutors eventually withdrew the charges in both the July and October incidents.
“That Alehouse and its staff, specifically the bouncers, have fostered a hostile environment that is/has been negatively impacting my enjoyment of the neighbourhood,” a resident said in a complaint filed to the alcohol, gaming, fuel and tobacco division, which was included in its investigation.
“I have, multiple times, witnessed this aggression from my own balcony.”
Nova Scotia does not have any regulations for bouncers. Legislation proposed more than a decade ago to regulate bar security was never proclaimed.
The provincial government has proposed new rules for bouncers, but loved ones who’ve lost family members to bar violence say they don’t go far enough.
The province did not respond to a request for comment.
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