Yes, they exist, but you have to go spend 6-8 weeks of full time training to get your POST certification first. AND - you really need to do it full time or a while first. You will always be an outsider, never fully aware of what the job entails as a part-timer or reservist. But the short answer is yes, such positions do exist, although I believe they are getting rarer as time goes by.
Check out the department's web sites. I was at Cherokee County Sheriff and notices they had job postings online, include the reserve units. http://www.cherokeega-sheriff.org/
I have a better question(s). Why do government employees (Judges, LEOs, etc.) get special carry and immunity privileges that citizens do not get? What ever happened to "equal protection under the law"? How is this not seen as a ruling class vs. peasants?
We can fly with guns too. Just the way the rules are. WE are presumed to hold a special public trust, and part of extending that trust is for the legislature to assume that we are worthy of being armed almost anywhere. However, in assuming that public trust we also subject ourselves to public scrutiny, POST certification requirements, and lose some of our rights to what most folks would consider free speach and some due process. There is never a free lunch.....
I thought the U.S. Constitution dictated the rules as in "shall not be infringed." So does that mean average joes like me can't be trusted to carry a firearm because I don't have a badge on my shirt? Am I morally inferior to those that wear a badge? Absolutely. LE officers are public servants and are funded by local taxpayers. I don't know about that, Sheriff. Most men and women in uniform, like the rest of us, are human. They make honest mistakes and there are even a few who are corrupt. Yet they often receive special treatment (ie not arrested or charged) for acts that would get non-LEs arrested, charged, imprisoned, interrogated, and out right humiliated. Take a look at the "Only One" stories...they go on and on and on... http://www.google.com/search?q="onl...ot.com&hl=en&lr=lang_en&safe=off&start=0&sa=N
I know many LEOs, and they can't voice how they feel because it can impact their jobs. Politics affect their jobs much more than most other people.
Powder Springs Police Dept. In Cobb County. Has part time officers that aren't on reserve status. I don't know any details though.