Crown closes its case in former Halifax bouncer’s manslaughter trial

The Crown has closed its case in the manslaughter trial for a former bouncer of Halifax Alehouse.

After five days of testimony, the Crown has closed its manslaughter and criminal negligence causing death case against a former Halifax bouncer.

It will now be up to the accused whether or not the defence will call any evidence. The judge will hear more about that decision on Wednesday morning.

Alexander Pishori Levy, 40, is accused of choking Ryan Sawyer, 31, to death Dec. 24, 2022. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Three Crown witnesses were called on Tuesday before the Crown closed, including a former bouncer at the now-shuttered Halifax Alehouse, a bouncer at a neighbouring bar, as well as a forensic pathologist.

Dr. Christopher Milroy, a forensic pathologist for over 30 years, said post-mortem photos he reviewed of Sawyer’s neck showed “significant” bruising, showing there was “forceful compression of the neck.”

He agreed with the medical examiner’s autopsy, saying compression of the neck was the underlying cause of Sawyer’s death.

The Crown played a video lasting two minutes and one second, suggesting Levy may have had Sawyer in a chokehold for that duration. Milroy called that “a significant period of time,” but said he could not offer pathological evidence to confirm how long Sawyer’s neck was held.

He did say the chance of surviving an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest is less than 10 per cent.

During cross-examination from Levy’s defence lawyer James Giacomontonio, Milroy agreed that rather than a chokehold being held for too long, he couldn’t exclude the possibility of sinus reflex causing Sawyer to suffer a sudden heart attack.

He also told the defence lawyer he’s never seen a death occur in martial arts, where chokeholds are commonly used.

Milroy said a person could be rendered unconscious in as little as 10-15 seconds, but that it could take longer if there were changes to location and strength of the hold.

Former bouncer’s interactions with Sawyer brothers

Gregory White, who started working as a bouncer in 1999, said he joined Alexander Levy as Levy went to a booth inside the Alehouse, telling Ryan Sawyer and his brother Kyle to leave that morning.

He said while escorting the brothers out, Kyle repeated the line, “I’ll see you outside,” to Levy.

White said kicking people out of the bar for intoxication would happen a few times a night, but escorting them after an altercation inside the bar was more rare.

He said Dec. 23 into Dec. 24 was a “very busy night.”

White testified that applying chokeholds as a bouncer is used as a last resort, and that he’s applied them “many times” – potentially hundreds – to restrain patrons, but mostly they’re used to separate patrons from fights.

He said “Most of the time, if I have to grab somebody, I may grab them for one quick squeeze, then release,” as he tried to calm them down.

White restrained Ryan Sawyer after he and Kyle made their way outside the bar. He said Kyle Sawyer was “arguing with Alex” and pointing at his face, but he doesn’t know what Sawyer was saying.

Kyle then leaned and Levy pushed his hands away, when Ryan came in “lunged towards Alex” and “took a swing.”

White pulled Ryan Sawyer back and gained control of him, and said that Sawyer would occasionally “struggle with me a bit” a few times, before they’d lose their balance several times – a “moment of calm” – over the course of a minute or two.

He said Kyle Sawyer was going to jail and “that’s when Ryan got aggressive.”

“He grunted and leaned forward and tried to bust free from my grip,” White testified. “I was losing control of him, so I tripped him down.”

After, Levy “popped onto his back and pulled him back.”

White then went inside to call for backup.

Asked by Crown prosecutor Rob Kennedy if White viewed Ryan Sawyer as a threat at that point, White said, “It was still an ongoing struggle.”

“He was still fighting with us. I was concerned because there was only three of us involved, with two guys struggling very hard and a lot of the crowd is going around, getting riled up.”

The trial resumes on Wednesday.

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