ALBERT LEA — A Freeborn County Sheriff’s Office deputy was placed on paid administrative leave on Tuesday on allegations of misconduct.

The action, against Deputy Arnold Zuniga, was taken based on an ongoing criminal investigation and subsequent internal investigation, said Freeborn County Administrator Jonn Kluever.

Kluever said the investigation is looking into possible violations of state statute as well as county and Sheriff’s Office policy. Details of the allegations have not been made public.

Freeborn County Sheriff Kurt Freitag said the Fillmore County Sheriff’s Office has agreed to investigate. He did not have a timeframe for when the investigation would be completed.

He said he asked an outside agency to investigate with the best interest of the county in mind.

“If there’s allegations of misconduct, policy violations, I’m certainly not going to lift a carpet and sweep it under,” Freitag said. “I want a professional organization, and the people of our county deserve that.”

Zuniga, who has been with the Sheriff’s Office since 2007, declined to comment.