The Providence Journal
PROVIDENCE, R.I. — A police dispatcher was fired last week after allegations that she was tipping off her boyfriend and others that they were being investigated by Providence narcotics detectives, according to court documents.
Jenny Roungreuang, 26, had been working as a dispatcher for three months, until police learned she’d told her boyfriend of several years that police were “running” his name for information, according to an affidavit supporting a search warrant filed at District Court.
Her boyfriend, 32-year-old Keilon Briggs, has a long criminal record that includes serving time for convictions of dealing drugs, felony assault, and carrying a gun. Roungreuang had visited Briggs at the Adult Correctional Institutions more than 30 times since 2014, the affidavit said.
Roungreuang has not been charged with a crime; police say it’s unknown how many criminal investigations may have been obstructed. Detective Theodore Michael requested the court’s permission to search Roungreuang’s cellphone records and call details. “The nature of sensitive information that is gathered as a control center operator and given to her boyfriend presents a great risk to the safety of all Providence Police Officers,” Michael wrote in his affidavit.
Narcotics detectives had been investigating Briggs for several months when one of the detectives called the control center on March 10 to check his motor vehicle history and current address, the affidavit said. The detective didn’t realize that the dispatcher, Roungreuang, was Briggs’ girlfriend.
Later that day, police received their own tip that Roungreuang was giving out classified information to Briggs and other people under investigation, the affidavit said. Briggs himself told police that his girlfriend let him know they were “running” his license, the affidavit said.
Roungreuang was suspended the next day and fired on March 16.
Copyright 2016 The Providence Journal