When my family first moved to CA in 1988 my mother called the local PD (Sacramento) to see about the legality of carrying a revolver in the car when she commuted 60 miles each way to work to her job in a very bad neighborhood. They told her no problem just make sure it is concealed so as not to alarm anyone and absolutely you must tell any police officer you ever come across that you have it there hidden or else you will get into trouble. Later when we found out how totally ridiculous this so-called "advice" was and utterly wrong and they were encouraging her to break the law we chalked it up as just a mistake. After I lived there another decade and saw person after person I knew, and myself, being endlessly harassed by the cops and searched without grounds and friends of mine being charged with all sorts of weapons offenses, like having a baseball bat in his trunk magically was a felony billy club charge (which a cop had previously told him was perfectly legal); I have concluded that they like to lie to "law abiding" people so they can ultimately bust you and safely take a "weapon off the street." At the same time I have seen many a Sacramento cop tuck tail and run the other way when they see gang members or other dangerous looking people. Easy way to make "weapons" arrests and not be in too much danger is focus on the regular people trying to protect themselves.
Look, my experiences have been pretty bad there with the police and maybe they are limited to just that area and maybe it was just during that timeframe as well and not the way things necessarily are now (I don't know as I moved to a better place where the police are ethical and professional). What I will say is do not take your local PD's advice as gospel, especially in CA. A lawyer would be best but who can afford that, right? Do ask the local PD but understand the person you ask may have a misinterpretation of the law or may well just lie to you as well.