Jonathan Taylor Thomas Held 34 Hours; Sheriff's Department Says Home Improvement Star Kicked Deputy

Jonathan Taylor Thomas, the former Home Improvement child star, spent more than 34 hours in jail, according to booking records. Sheriff's officials say he 'kicked a deputy in the stomach' as deputies tried to hold him. He was a passenger at a late-night traffic stop in Westlake Village, California, on Monday 21 September.

Deputies booked him on suspicion of felony obstruction and public intoxication. Prosecutors had not charged him by Thursday 24 September. The Los Angeles Times says those records now classify the incident as a detention.

The Sheriff's Account of the Traffic Stop

The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department says the car sat at a green light around 12:30am, blocking traffic where Westlake Boulevard meets Townsgate Road. Deputies drew level near Townsgate Road in case the driver was in trouble. They saw that the driver appeared drunk and began field sobriety tests, simple roadside checks of balance. Deputies arrested the driver for suspected drink-driving but have not released a name. A timeline below sets out the stop, the booking, and the release.

The department says Thomas appeared drunk and kept leaving the car, and that his visits to the deputies distracted them from their investigation. The Malibu/Lost Hills Sheriff's Station told People magazine that Thomas 'was uncooperative with them, failed to follow orders, and obstructed the investigation.' Records show deputies booked him at 1:50am and released him on Tuesday 22 September. The department's statement does not mention any injury to the deputy.

What a Detention Record Means Under California Law

California's Penal Code sets out what must happen when someone is arrested and released without an accusatory pleading being filed. Under section 851.6, police must give that person a written certificate that calls the event a detention. Under Penal Code section 851.6, the law-enforcement agency must issue a certificate describing the action as a detention. Any reference to the action as an arrest must then be deleted from the arresting agency's and the California Department of Justice's arrest records, with subsequent records referring to it as a detention.

Section 849 allows an officer to release a person arrested without a warrant when the officer is satisfied there are insufficient grounds for a criminal complaint. Under section 849(c), an arrest released under the specified circumstances is thereafter deemed a detention. The department's statement of Wednesday 23 September names neither section. It still calls his custody an arrest, so the booking record and the department now use two labels for the same event.

Thomas's Career and What Comes Next

In July, Patricia Richardson, who played his mother, shared a rare photo of herself with Thomas and his TV brother Taran Noah Smith. Thomas also voiced young Simba in Disney's 1994 film The Lion King. He left Home Improvement in 1998 to study. His last screen role came in 2015.

Next, the Ventura County District Attorney's Office will review the case, the sheriff's department says. Prosecutors there can still file a charge. Thomas did not answer a HuffPost request for comment. He has also not spoken publicly about the stop or the claim.