5 deputies disciplined for allowing sucker punch at Trump rally

FAYETTEVILLE, N.C., March 17 (UPI) -- Five deputies have been disciplined in response to a Donald Trump supporter allegedly sucker punching a protestor at a rally in Fayetteville, N.C. last week.

The five were escorting the protestor out of the venue on March 9 when video captured the deputies neither protecting the protestor nor arresting the 78-year-old who allegedly threw the punch.

"The actions of the deputies and their failures to act in situations such as that which occurred during the Trump rally at the Crown Coliseum have never been and will not ever be tolerated under the policies of this office," Sheriff Earl Butler said in the statement.

Three of the deputies were suspended for five days without pay and demoted. The other two were suspended for three days without pay for "for unsatisfactory performance and the failure to discharge their duties," the Cumberland County Sheriff's Office said.

All five also have been placed on probation for the next year.

The decision came following a professional standards investigation of the event.

John Franklin McGraw, the man who allegedly threw the punch was not detained at the time because the officers said they didn't see him throw the punch. McGraw was later charged with assault and disorderly conduct after the video was made public.