City of Blackwell, Kaw Nation Police Department Among Those Named in Negligence Lawsuit

NEWKIRK — A lawsuit claiming negligence against the City of Blackwell, Kaw Nation Police, former Kaw Nation assistant chief Robert William Seney, and others has been filed in Kay County District Court by Blackwell resident Rebecca Wedel Hawzipta.

According to the statement filed in the case, Hawzipta and Seney were involved in a relationship that ended in 2019.

At the time Seney was employed by the Kaw Nation Police Department.

Hawzipta told authorities that Seney placed a tracking device on her vehicle and secretly installed audio and video surveillance throughout the Kaw Nation police station reportedly in an effort to see if she was reporting him to police.

Court documents suggest that some believe the surveillance equipment is still at the station because Seney was arrested before he could remove it.

Robert William Seney

Seney reportedly followed Hawzipta to grocery stores, gas stations and other locations for months. She claims he used a drone to photograph her and her children at a motel after she began living in motels in August of 2019. Seney was able to track her to eight different motels and would  park outside and leave notes on her car.

Seney reportedly on one occasion was driving erratically behind her through Blackwell throwing photos of her out the window.

According to the lawsuit, she contacted Blackwell police and reported the incident and claims that Blackwell police did not believe her allegations.

Hawzipta claims she was on the phone with Julienne Ihrig during an incident with Seney and that Ihrig overheard Seney’s threats. Ihrig reportedly called KNPD chief Jim Sherron and reported the incident.

Hawzipta stated she made numerous police reports to Sherron and claims that he did nothing.

In the lawsuit, Hawzipta reports that during another incident, Seney was out of control and following her when he ran out of gas. Her then fiancé reportedly called Sherron and said Seney was out of control.

Sherron and another officer reportedly met Seney. Shortly after the meeting, Seney was reportedly made a traffic officer.

On Jan. 3, 2020, reports show Seney showed up at Hawzipta’s home and held a gun to her head, forced her into a vehicle and held her against her will for 30 minutes. She was able to escape and call police.

Seney was arrested after the incident and later faced numerous charges on both the county and federal level.

In court, Federal District Court Judge Bernard Jones reportedly read the impact witness statement prepared by Hawzipta because she said she was too distraught to read it herself.

In 2021, Seney was convicted of several charges and sentenced to 96 months in the Bureau of Prisons with three years supervised release on a drug charge. The carjacking, kidnapping, and firearm charges were dismissed. He was ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $4,207.26 and complete a 52 week domestic violence treatment plan.

It is noted in the lawsuit, that for unknown reasons, Seney has not been placed in a federal penitentiary and has been serving his time in county jails including Kay County.

Hawzipta is seeking punitive damages and  is represented by attorney Laurie Koller of Muskogee.