About Us
Constitutionally Effective Policing℠
At GUARDIAN, we believe in the rule of law and the oaths we took as Police Officers to uphold the principles of the Constitution. Our team's unique experiences in patrol, investigations, internal affairs, and public safety change management - with many hard lessons learned along the way - have taught us that the fundamental principles of old-school policing CAN co-exist with accountable and effective policing. The secret sauce is knowing how to fine-tune your agency's policy structure alongside your public safety operations, while meeting and exceeding your community's expectations.
GPS can help your agency and your employees get there by focusing on excellence in Policy, Training, Supervision, Accountability, and Compliance.
We believe that, above all else, policing must be effective. But it must also simultaneously be transparent and accountable – to the communities we serve. An overused quote about great power and great responsibility comes to mind. At GPS, we don't believe in blindly following current police trends - we will develop and implement real, customized solutions that support your public safety goals and bolster both constitutional and effective policing.
The "best practice" is the one that meets your needs and reduces your risk; GPS will help you identify it and implement it, no matter the challenge.
That's how we help law enforcement agencies deliver Constitutionally Effective Policing ℠ .
Experience You Can Rely On
Our team includes several members who developed, wrote, edited and revised Phoenix PD's policies on Use of Force, Use of Force Reporting, and Systems of Accountability. Collectively, our team has years of experience analyzing police policies from across the country during best practice research on Use of Force, First Amendment/Protest/Demonstrations, Internal Affairs, Inspections and Audits, Early Intervention, Stop Search and Arrest and many others.
For training excellence, GPS has partnered with premier leadership, use of force and internal affairs training resources to help your agency develop its current and future leaders. Our team is dedicated to providing expert guidance and support to help police agencies reach their full potential.
The GPS Team
Chad Ryan
Seth Zacharias, PMP®
Seth Zacharias, PMP®
GPS President & Managing Partner
After completing his Bachelor’s Degree at the University of Pittsburgh in Political Science, Chad entered into military service with the U.S. Air Force. While initially serving as an enlisted Medic, he attended Officer Training School and was commissioned as an Air Force Personnel Officer. After completin
GPS President & Managing Partner
After completing his Bachelor’s Degree at the University of Pittsburgh in Political Science, Chad entered into military service with the U.S. Air Force. While initially serving as an enlisted Medic, he attended Officer Training School and was commissioned as an Air Force Personnel Officer. After completing his military service, Chad worked for a church and earned a Master’s Degree in Christian Leadership. He felt called to serve again, and joined the Phoenix Police Department as a Police Officer. Chad initially worked for Phoenix PD in Patrol Operations, Neighborhood Enforcement (Community-Based Policing and Surveillance) and as a Robbery Detective in the Violent Crime Bureau.
After promoting to Sergeant, he continued to gain experience leading officers in Patrol Operations, Neighborhood Enforcement, Administration, and Investigations. During his tenure as a Robbery Unit Sergeant, he helped create a culture that raised the closure rate (arrests) from 15% to 31% in 3 years. As a Lieutenant, he led a Patrol Operations team, the DOJ Investigation Unit (later, the Continuous Improvement Unit) and currently, Traffic Operations. For his leadership and many other contributions in preventing a DOJ Consent Decree in Phoenix - including being one of the few people who thought it could actually be done, and coordinating much of the work to make that a reality – Chad Ryan was recognized as LawOfficer.com's national 2023 Courageous Police Leader of the Year.
Seth Zacharias, PMP®
Seth Zacharias, PMP®
Seth Zacharias, PMP®
GPS Director of Operations
& Chief Vision Officer
Prior to beginning his law enforcement career with the City of Phoenix Police Department in 2007, Seth served in both the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve and the U.S. Navy Reserve, including one deployment to Iraq in 2005. Seth worked at Starbucks Coffee Company where he started as a barista but
GPS Director of Operations
& Chief Vision Officer
Prior to beginning his law enforcement career with the City of Phoenix Police Department in 2007, Seth served in both the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve and the U.S. Navy Reserve, including one deployment to Iraq in 2005. Seth worked at Starbucks Coffee Company where he started as a barista but worked his way into the management ranks, learning about leadership and management within the strong employee development and leadership culture at Starbucks.
With Phoenix PD, Seth worked approximately 6 years as a patrol officer before transitioning to administrative assignments within the Department. Seth discovered a passion for organizational continuous improvement when he started working in the Quality Assurance and Policy Unit out of the Chief’s Office, notably assisting with a full-scale policy review in preparation for implementation of the Department’s new records management system. In an effort to expand operational capacity, Seth was transferred to the Professional Standards Bureau - Inspections Unit where he worked various special projects and assisted with several significant engagements. Some of those prominent projects were: an Officer-Involved Shooting Review which was a collaborative analysis with Arizona State University of Phoenix OIS incidents from 2009-2014; his work with the City Manager’s Office “AdvancePHX” initiatives, including serving for over a year as the project administrator for the City’s Arrest-to-Court Improvement Initiative; Seth also worked inter-departmentally with City IT staff to develop a roadmap for enhancements to Phoenix PD’s Early Intervention System. Continuing to work out of class as an Officer, Seth was the key visionary in developing the Department’s Early Identification and Intervention Program, working with City IT project managers, and with Police executives and senior-level City leadership.
In August 2021, with the announcement of the U.S. Department of Justice investigation into the City and the Police Department, Seth was selected by the Chief's Office to be a part of a small liaison team of staff needed to support the Department’s role in the investigation: the DOJ Investigation Unit. Seth was sought out for this prominent role due to his unique experience with policy, the administrative workings of the Professional Standards Bureau and the Department, and his technical expertise with Department information systems. One of Seth's early successes in that role was ensuring the proper gathering and transmission of data and documents to City legal advisors, and then ultimately to the DOJ.
Drawing on his vast experience with project management and continuous improvement, Seth created a formal structure of material collection and production that proved invaluable as the City ultimately produced nearly 179,000 documents for DOJ review.
Still an Officer, Seth decided to formalize his project management skills by studying for and passing the Project Management Professional (PMP) certification in 2022, universally agreed to be one of the most difficult professional certifications. In late 2022, Phoenix PD began a comprehensive Use of Force policy revision; as an Officer, Seth was assigned to manage the overall UOF policy revision, but most specifically, the review and improvement of the Department's reporting and review processes for UOF.
In early 2023, Seth was promoted to Sergeant and due to the complexity of the DOJ investigation and the ongoing UOF policy revisions, he was promoted in place, remaining at the rebranded Continuous Improvement Unit to manage a vast portfolio of historic reform initiatives. As a Sergeant, Seth has supervised the Department’s policy detail and now leads a Process Improvement Detail. Seth and his team currently support the implementation of the UOF policy improvement project, as well as the Systems of Accountability Improvement Project - an ongoing review and enhancement of the internal affairs processes in the department.
Seth earned a Bachelor of Science in Law Enforcement Administration from Ottawa University, and a Master of Science in Leadership from Grand Canyon University.
Seth is a devoted husband, and father of three; he loves to fit in a run, a hike or a camping trip when he is not watching his kids play sports.
Kyle Cosner
Seth Zacharias, PMP®
Kyle Cosner
GPS Policy & Research Specialist
After graduating from Tusculum University in 2000 with a Bachelor of Arts in Mass Media, Kyle landed a job as a website designer in the early days of the Internet but started looking for something more meaningful than hand-coding HTML on an iMac. In 2001, he chose to enlist in the U.S. Army and began his
GPS Policy & Research Specialist
After graduating from Tusculum University in 2000 with a Bachelor of Arts in Mass Media, Kyle landed a job as a website designer in the early days of the Internet but started looking for something more meaningful than hand-coding HTML on an iMac. In 2001, he chose to enlist in the U.S. Army and began his service just four months before 9/11. Kyle served in Army special operations units for six years between the U.S. Army Special Operations Command (Airborne) and the 10th Special Forces Group (Airborne), including a combat tour in Iraq with the Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force – Arabian Peninsula.
Upon completing his military service, he was hired as a Police Officer by the Phoenix Police Department in 2007. After nearly 12 years of distinguished service in the Patrol Division, including tours as a Field Training Officer, he was selected to work as a background investigations Detective in the Employment Services Bureau, and later, as a Detective at the Professional Standards Bureau (internal affairs). Because of this unique skillset at the Officer level, Kyle was recruited by Phoenix PD's DOJ Investigation Unit liaison team. At the DOJ Investigation Unit – which soon transitioned into the Continuous Improvement Unit under Chad Ryan's leadership – Cosner worked as a special projects Detective and contributed significantly to a number of projects, including the Use of Force Policy Improvement Initiative, Consent Decree research, and a vast assortment of other organizational improvements such as the creation of the Force Evaluation and Review Unit. Alongside his Continuous Improvement Unit supervisor, Seth Zacharias, Kyle was a primary researcher and content developer for the City of Phoenix's historic “Road To Reform” report, which was released in January 2024 and detailed Phoenix PD's ongoing continuous improvement efforts. Kyle later served as principal researcher and lead writer for the Department's flagship Systems of Accountability reform project, and was a key contributor in the development of the City of Phoenix's landmark DOJ transparency website, dojrecords.phoenix.gov.
Kyle's Phoenix PD awards and decorations include the Police Chief's Unit Award (2020), four Officer of the Month designations (2008, 2010, 2013 and 2015), and Search Warrant Expert designation (2011). In 2024, he received the Arizona POST-certified Professional Standards Investigations Certificate (PSIC™). Kyle received LawOfficer.com's national 2024 Courageous Police Leader of the Year award for his tireless commitment to agency-based continuous improvement efforts.