A few thoughts (for both CA and NY):
Police reports CAN be admitted as evidence "for the truth of the matter asserted", and particularly in small claims, which has about the same rules of evidence as the Wild West, frequently are.
As illustrated in the post above, if both sides consent to the admission of the police report, even though it can be hearsay and thus, non-admissible, then it comes in. (In lawyer-speak, an objection is waived unless raised). Other times, the police report can be used for purposes other than who is at fault. Things like impeachment, or to establish the presence (or lack thereof) of a particular person at the accident site come to mind. (Although even then, the safe practice is to subpoena the authoring officer).
I'll save the discussion of multi-level hearsay in a police report for another day