A Kern County Sheriff’s deputy was arrested Thursday on suspicion of spousal battery and false imprisonment.

The Sheriff’s Department said Deputy Lawrence Thatcher, who has been with the department for 11 years, was taken into custody Thursday after an investigation Wednesday determined that there was probable cause to make an arrest.

Kern County Sheriff’s Office detectives assumed the investigation and developed probable cause to arrest Thatcher for Penal Code 243e(1) (spousal battery) and Penal Code 236 (false imprisonment). Thatcher was taken into custody Thursday and will be booked into the Central Receiving Facility.

Thatcher has been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation.