DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A Polk County sheriff’s detective convicted of punching an Ankeny firefighter in a bar fracas has left the sheriff’s force. The Des Moines Register reports that John Negrete sent a letter announcing his retirement from the Polk County Sheriff’s Office on Dec. 3, three days after Sheriff Bill McCarthy wrote that he planned to fire Negrete. McCarthy retired in mid-December.

Court records say Negrete and his girlfriend, Tereasa Sunberg, were sentenced to a year of probation and given deferred judgments at their sentencings in September. The deferred judgments means their convictions can be removed from court records if they complete their probation terms.

The two were convicted of assault causing injury. Authorities say Negrete punched an Ankeny firefighter, Ross Frank, and Sunberg punched Frank’s wife, Danielle.