Five year sentence in fatal downtown London assault

Daniel Brand is seen in this undated family handout photo.

Chad Hallett has been sentenced to five years in prison in connection with an assault at a downtown bar in April 2012 that took the life of Daniel Brand.

The 27-year-old had pleaded guilty to manslaughter and assault causing bodily harm in the case.

Brand was punched in the head twice, fell and hit his head on the ground outside a bar near Richmond and Carling Streets.

The men were not known to each other, but Hallett had reportedly been involved in an altercation just ten minutes earlier with one of Brand’s friends. Hallett was also drinking and using cocaine.

Brand died in hospital just a few hours later after being taken off life support. Hallett soon turned himself in to police.

In her sentencing decision, Justice Kathleen McGowan credited Hallett for expressing remorse and not taking the victim’s family through a lengthy court process.

Mother calling for change

Brand’s mother, Josie Brand, says she will never get over the loss over son but hopes it could help prevent similar incidents.

She wants a change in the way bars handle assaults on their property and says police should have been called after the first punch.

“All bars should have surveillance tapes, this bar never had a surveillance tape. And it should be mandatory that police are called when there’s an assault happening in the bar.”

But police say assault covers everything from a punch to a knifing or gunshot, and it would be difficult to respond to ever incident at a bar on a busy night.