Does a policeman working off-duty as a security guard for a drug store have to be considered a "peace officer" in the context of a battery charge?

People v. Hooker (1967) 254 Cal.App.2d 878, 62 Cal.Rptr. 675 also involved a policeman working off-duty as a security guard for a drug store. The person he attempted to arrest for shoplifting resisted, and the issue was whether that person was guilty of battery on a police officer (Pen.Code, 243). The guard was wearing his police uniform when the events occurred. The court held that the fact that the officer was working for a private employer when the battery occurred "need not weaken or destroy his continuing authority as a peace officer." (Id. at p. 882, 62 Cal.Rptr. 675.)

A third case, People v. Millard (1971) 15 Cal.App.3d 759, 93 Cal.Rptr. 402, involved the activities of two off-duty officers working as security guards for a store. The arrestee argued that his Fourth Amendment rights were violated because a guard had conducted an unreasonable, warrantless search. The prosecution countered that the guard was acting as a private security guard at the time, and, as a result, the Fourth Amendment had no application. The court disagreed, holding that in making the arrest the officer was acting as a police officer, not as a private person. Since the search by a police officer was not justified, the conviction was reversed.