Beauty-Pageant Cop Placed On Leave In Ring Dispute

CHULA VISTA, Calif. -- A police officer who sued Chula Vista over her participation in a beauty pageant was reported Thursday to have been placed on leave pending the outcome of a probe stemming from allegations that she stole a $17,000 engagement ring from her former fiance.

Officer Deanna Michelle Mory, 24, was stripped of her badge and gun and placed on paid administrative leave Friday, The San Diego Union-Tribune reported.

Mory's ex-fiance, Brian Callahan, an Army officer currently serving in Iraq, filed a theft complaint with the District Attorney's Office, which decided the case belonged in a civil court rather than a criminal one, according to the newspaper.

Chula Vista police Capt. Gary Wedge confirmed that Mory was placed on paid administrative leave but declined to comment further, the Union-Tribune reported.

Mory, who also declined to comment on the current allegations, sued the city in 2006 over her participation in a beauty pageant.

Mory alleged that she was unfairly pressured by department officials to drop out of the Ms. United States Pageant and give up the Ms. California title that qualified her for the national pageant. The lawsuit has yet to be settled, according to the Union-Tribune.