It wasn't your average bar fight Ð not when part of a man's ear was bitten off.
Penticton RCMP were called to the Eagles Hall on Friday night after two men became embroiled in an altercation at the club bar, Sgt. Rick Dellebuur said Monday.
"While en route they heard that a man had actually had his ear bitten off," he said.
They arrived and found the victim in a highly intoxicated state, holding a compress to his ear.
"He had blood on his shirt and a cloth on the left side of his head, but he had really no idea what happened," Dellebuur said.
Witnesses said the two men had been bantering back and forth when one suddenly leaned over and bit off a good portion of the other man's ear above the ear canal.
The victim, a 53-year-old Penticton man, was taken to hospital but medical staff were unable to reattach the severed part of the ear.
Dellebuur said the man declined to press charges against the 36-year-old assailant. However, he is being given a few days to reconsider.
Allan Chiasson, chairman of the Eagles' board of trustees, said Monday an emergency meeting was held at which the alleged biter was given a lifetime ban from the club.
Chiasson said the man, who he would not name, was signed in as a guest and the member who brought him there will also face some form of disciplinary action.
"I'm told this man went to whisper something into the other man's ear and then bit it," Chiasson said. "There was no confrontation. It came out of the blue.
"This is very unusual for the Eagles. We have a lot of seniors as members and we offer a family friendly place and a safe atmosphere. We won't even allow arguing... that will get you a 90-day ban."