Are non military police officers considered civilians, or no?

Question

Are non military police officers (city/county/state/federal) considered civilians? I ask this, because I've heard some officers say something about there being a difference between a police officer and a civilian.

Answer 1

The police are civilians.  They are agents of the civilian authorities.  The only reason police officers like to call non-police officers "civilians" is because they pretend to be a military organization.  This is why special services style uniforms became so popular among American police departments - it's a part of pretending to be something they're not and were never meant to be.

Answer 2

Civilian LEO are frst civilians.

Only the military is military

Answer 3

Yes they are civilians!

Answer 4

Yes, they are civilians, they might have a different name for themselves though.  

Answer 5

answered your own question as soon as you said non military.  non military=civilian

Answer 6

It depends on the context.  From a military perspective, they are civilians, but as you said, many police officers refer to everyone else as "civilians."  In reality, there is military, and there is civilian, and they fall into the latter.  When they say civilian, they mean anyone not in law enforcement.

Answer 7

Compared to the military? Yes they are civilians, compared to the average joe? No they are cops.