Yellowknife (July 18/03) - The NWT Liquor Licensing Board should consider making it mandatory for bars to train bouncers, NWT Chief Coroner Percy Kinney said in a report on the death of Henry John (Hank) Van Vulpen.

The 52-year-old man died in Edmonton on Nov. 3 after a scuffle with security staff at the Cave Bar.

Death came from a blow to the head caused by the direct or indirect actions of bar staff, Kinney said.

RCMP Insp. Greg Morrow says no charges will be laid in the case, because they do not have a reasonable chance of obtaining a conviction for criminal negligence.

According to the coroner's report, Van Vulpen was intoxicated and was refused service in at least two of the numerous bars he was seen in the night he died.

Before he ended up at the Cave Bar at 1:20 a.m., he was escorted out of the Gallery -- the bar above The Cave --three times by a bouncer.

At the Cave, Kinney said, Van Vulpen ordered a drink, which was soon taken away and replaced with water. He was then asked to leave by the same bouncer. When he didn't, there was a scuffle.

The two men wrestled, and some witnesses said Van Vulpen may have hit his head on the wall.

Some witnesses said the bouncer struck the man in the abdomen. Some said he was held in a choke hold, others didn't see him choked. Even if the choke hold was used, it did not lead to the man's death, said Kinney.

The report said witnesses disagree on what happened next. But it appears Van Vulpen was lifted to his feet by two staff.

They let go, and he collapsed to the floor, hitting the back of his head. Another witness said Van Vulpen was "lightly" pushed and hit the front of his head on the steps.

It is most likely Van Vulpen sustained the injury that killed him when he hit his head on the steps, said Kinney.

He said Van Vulpen was taken outside and was unconscious when police arrived.

Blood tests showed the man had 3.3 grams per litre of alcohol in his system when he was admitted to hospital. The legal limit allowed for operating a motor vehicle is .8 grams per litre.

Many people who who die from this injury are intoxicated, according to the report, although the exact reason for this is unknown.

Kinney recommended the Cave and Gallery bars develop a firm policy for dealing with intoxicated persons and provide training to all staff to prevent more deaths.

He also recommended the Liquor Licensing Board, or appropriate agency, make this mandatory across the territory.

"Certainly the fact that Mr. Van Vulpen is now dead would suggest the processes they used should at least be reviewed," Kinney said at a press conference Thursday.

"Whether it would have made a difference in the death or not is hard to know."

Without formal protocol and policies, he continued, "it becomes a crap-shoot as to whether this would be avoided or not."

Kinney recalled at least three other deaths that involved security staff removing a patron.