the authority to use force
This is the important part, and no they fucking don’t. Cops have the monopoly on violence. Security guards are not cops and do not have any special authority to use force that anyone else doesn’t. The idea of a security guard arresting someone is made up movie bullshit
The guards at my supermarket have a Glock and 2 magazines lol. They stand in the front of the store so I don’t think they’re following people around or care about lost prevention. They appeared after some gang shootings and robberies happened nearby. Most private guards in my downtown are also armed with pistols unless they’re new in which case they have tasers or pepper spray.
But I’m not saying they’re arresting you or detaining you - you can only volunteer to be detained. But they do have the authority to use force because they always do. I haven’t seen a single guard who wasn’t hostile and checking people or trying some Paul Blart shit unless they’re completely unarmed or very old, in which case they’re just following people and whispering to some clerk about a guy potentially stealing a sausage.
They’ve got guns, but it would be mega illegal to use those guns in any situation that it wouldn’t legal for you, the random shopper, to also whip out a gun and use it. Unlike a cop, who has the legal authority to use his guns in far more situations than you do.
Ok so what? Your argument is that they just have a cop-like uniform, cop-like mentality, and cop-like demand from reactionaries, but just because they’re only allowed to shoot a gun when “their life is threatened,” it makes them exactly the same as you?
They don’t get qualified immunity, but buddy you’re not wearing a badge and walking around with a utility belt with your gun hanging out. No one perceives you with authority and fear. You gate keeping the gym is not the same as you being paid to train to fight and kill someone for a client lol.
