Family of man who died after assault outside Halifax bar vows to force change

The family of a man who was killed outside a Halifax bar last year is pushing for stricter rules for bouncers.

Ryan Sawyer, 31, died after police found him unresponsive on the street in front of the Halifax Alehouse in the early hours of Dec. 24.

A witness who was outside the bar in those early hours of Christmas Eve told CBC News he saw a security guard put a man in a choke hold before police arrived.

Sawyer's death was ruled a homicide, but police have not laid any charges.

"We said we have to make people accountable, that there has to be change," said Lee Sawyer, Ryan's mother. "It can't sit in a political red tape until there's another victim."

Sawyer's parents, who are speaking out for the first time since his death, say it's been frustrating waiting for the police investigation to wrap, trying to hold people accountable and talking to government officials about what can be done.

They say they've had little sleep and many bad days in the last six months.

"It's a vicious cycle. You think about what had happened. You think about the loss," said Scott Sawyer, Ryan's father.

"Then you don't think about it for a while and then there's the guilt that comes back like, 'Why are we not thinking about Ryan?'"

Ryan was a big teddy bear, his parents say. He was very protective of his family and friends and would do anything for them. He had a great sense of humour, they say, and was fun to be around.

The day after Ryan died the family vowed to never let what happened to him happen to anyone else, his mother says.

"We're going to do what we have to do in order to get change in place because nobody should have to allow this to happen to their children," said Lee Sawyer.

It's not the first time a family in Nova Scotia has pledged to make change after the death of a bar patron in Halifax.

Stephen Giffin died on Christmas Day in 1999 after being beaten by bouncers at a former Halifax bar, Captain Eli's. The two men charged with manslaughter in Giffin's death were eventually acquitted.