Former bouncer Alexander Pishori Levy, right, carries a white box as he leaves Nova Scotia Supreme Court in Halifax in October.Fred Lum/The Globe and Mail
A Nova Scotia judge has found a bouncer guilty of manslaughter and criminal negligence causing death for the killing of a patron outside a Halifax bar on Christmas Eve 2022, in a case that exposed the province’s lack of training and licensing for security guards at drinking establishments.
In his decision, Supreme Court of Nova Scotia Justice James Chipman determined that Alexander Pishori Levy unlawfully killed Ryan Sawyer after an altercation by placing him in a chokehold for two minutes, which caused him to go into cardiac arrest. When Mr. Sawyer went limp, Mr. Levy failed to assist or seek medical attention for him, which the judge said showed a reckless disregard for safety.
“What began as a rather minor disturbance inside the Alehouse quickly escalated, primarily owing to Mr. Levy’s disproportionate response,” wrote Justice Chipman in his decision released Wednesday. “Rather than de-escalating the situation, Mr. Levy ramped things up and used extreme violence to ultimately subdue Ryan.”
Nearly three years after their son’s death, Scott and Lee Sawyer said they felt immense relief upon hearing Wednesday’s verdict. Throughout the trial, they sat through video after video of their son’s last moments being choked to death lying on the wet cold pavement – time they said was nearly as heartbreaking as when they were called to the hospital to take their son off life support.
“The system worked,” said Mr. Sawyer, adding that he’s grateful for the outcome, which he described as bittersweet.
“It all didn’t need to happen.”
Ryan Sawyer and his twin brother Kyle at their parents’ home in Fall River, N.S., on Christmas Eve in 2022.Contributed by the Sawyer family/Courtesy of family
The tragedy has shone a spotlight on Nova Scotia’s dearth of regulation or legislation for bar security. At the time of Mr. Sawyer’s death, the province had no formal training and licensing regime to regulate bar bouncers, unlike many other provinces.
After Mr. Sawyer’s death, The Globe and Mail published a series of stories examining why no such law exists in the province, despite one sitting on the books since 2010. That law was never proclaimed into force, despite being voted for by all three political parties.
Under that law, a registrar would license and delicense bouncers and security guards, and have the power to revoke a licence for many reasons, including for the protection of the public.
Since Mr. Sawyer’s death, Nova Scotia’s Progressive Conservatives have repeatedly refused to resurrect the law and bring it into effect, despite pleas from family members of victims that it could help prevent another tragedy.
Instead, the Nova Scotia government announced plans in the spring of 2023 to mandate security staff receive training and submit to background checks in a handful of late-night bars, such as the Alehouse, which has now closed. The vast majority of establishments would be exempt from the regulations.
Mr. Sawyer’s parents and other family members have fiercely advocated to government officials for stricter and wider measures for bouncers that were in keeping with the law that was never brought into force.
Ryan Sawyer’s parents Scott, left, and Lee in 2023.Darren Calabrese/The Globe and Mail
Then, days before Mr. Levy’s criminal trial began this fall, the provincial government announced it would extend the new rules to all bars − a plan that has also been criticized for its lack of enforceability.
During Mr. Levy’s trial, 20 witnesses were called, including police officers, bouncers, the owners of the Alehouse and Mr. Sawyer’s twin brother Kyle Sawyer, who was with him on the fatal night out. Mr. Levy, 40, testified in his own defence.
He had been working in security for about 16 years at the time of Mr. Sawyer’s death. He said he had received training on use of force and restraints, including the chokehold manoeuvre he used on Mr. Sawyer.
In his decision, Justice Chipman stated that Alehouse owners Marcel and Michel Khoury knew little about the training of their bouncers and lacked credibility.
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Justice Chipman also referenced the lack of regulations for bar bouncers, restating the Crown’s remarks that this should not give a “green light to excessive force.”
“I find the Crown’s submissions here to be compelling, particularly given my findings that Mr. Levy inflicted the chokehold after proactively deciding to assault Ryan when he was not a threat and largely defenceless on the street, outside the bounds of the Alehouse,” he wrote.
The 31-year-old Sawyer brothers had just arrived home for the holidays from Toronto on Dec. 23, 2022, when they headed to downtown Halifax for dinner and drinks with their parents. They attended a world junior hockey exhibition game and went to various bars and met up with a few others before ending up at the Alehouse, where Mr. Levy was head of security.
The Alehouse was packed and Kyle Sawyer bumped into another patron and spilled beer on him. There was pushing and an argument. Mr. Levy and other bouncers confronted the brothers and told them to leave. Outside, the Sawyers exchanged words with the bouncers. Scuffling ensued and both brothers were taken down. Mr. Sawyer was later pronounced dead at the hospital.