California laws strengthened wall of silence around officers ...

California's decades-long obsession with public safety has tied the hands of budget-makers who want to spend more on education and social services â€" and has given power, influence and wealth to the state's law enforcement community. This is the final of four parts ... "At the time, you could be forced to take a polygraph examination, forced to do anything (or lose your job)," said Ron Cottingham, president of the Peace Officers Research Association of California. ...