Dr. Sean R. Zauhar is a police leader, trainer, and researcher with more than 25 years of experience in Minnesota law enforcement. His career spans patrol, SWAT, investigations, academy leadership, and professional standards. He pairs that operational depth with a doctorate in criminal justice and more than a decade of university teaching. At Cambridge Consulting Group, Sean helps agencies strengthen training systems, modernize use of force practices, and develop leaders who can turn research into daily operations.
Sean is a Lieutenant with the Apple Valley Police Department, where he leads Professional Standards and Training. He has redesigned the arrest and control and field training programs, launched an instructor development program, and implemented procedural justice, crisis intervention, and Ethical Policing Is Courageous (EPIC) training. He also directs hiring and recruitment, policy review, and internal affairs investigations.
Before Apple Valley, Sean spent 13 years with the Saint Paul Police Department. As Use of Force Supervisor and Lead Instructor, he led development of a new use of force program built on leverage based control techniques adapted from Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Over a five year period, the department recorded a 36 percent reduction in overall force, an 86 percent reduction in strikes, a 62 percent reduction in chemical irritant spray, and a 73 percent reduction in electronic control device use. He delivered quarterly in service training for 620 officers and advised command staff and the city attorney’s office on use of force matters.
Sean also led the work group that wrote Saint Paul’s new use of force policy, aligned with the recommendations of the President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing. He built the department’s first Crisis Intervention Team program and trained more than 450 officers and supervisors. As Police Academy Coordinator, he led the redesign of 640 hours of academy curriculum for accreditation using an adult learning model. He also supervised public order teams during the 2020 and 2021 civil unrest in Saint Paul and Minneapolis.
He began his career in 2001 with the Shakopee Police Department, where he served as a patrol officer, field training officer, SWAT sniper, and lead defensive tactics instructor. He was named Shakopee’s 2007 Officer of the Year. In Saint Paul he later served on patrol, as a beat officer, and on the SWAT team.
Sean has been a National Institute of Justice LEADS Scholar since 2020, focusing on police education, training, and use of force. He holds a PhD in Criminal Justice from Walden University, a Master of Arts from the University of St. Thomas, and a Bachelor of Arts from St. Cloud State University. He is a graduate of Northwestern University’s School of Police Staff and Command. He teaches at the University of St. Thomas, Metropolitan State University, and Rasmussen University.
His honors include the St. Paul Police Chief Rowan Award for Excellence and Innovation, the St. Paul Police Medal of Merit, and the Apple Valley Police Chief’s Award of Merit in 2024 and 2025.
