(a) “County peace officer” means the sheriff and any officer or employee of the sheriff’s office of a county employed and qualifying as a constable or deputy constable or marshal or deputy marshal or deputy sheriff or equal or higher rank, irrespective of the duties to which that person may be assigned, excepting, however, those employees whose principal duties are those of a telephone operator, clerk, stenographer, machinist or mechanic.
(b) Any other provision in the Government Code to the contrary notwithstanding, “county peace officer” shall also include and mean any inspectors, detectives and investigators employed by the district attorney, whose principal duties are to investigate crime and criminal cases and to receive regular compensation for that service.
(c) “County peace officer” does not include a local prosecutor, local public defender, or local public defender investigator, as defined in Section 31469.2.
(Amended by Stats. 2002, Ch. 1152, Sec. 8. Effective January 1, 2003.)