If fellow officers are reporting this immediately, I take it as a very good sign, even as it remains frustrating there are officers who would do such a thing.
Also, according to the article, there was a crowd. If the officer, Powell, was getting into it with someone, the danger increased for the other cops, so reporting him is also in their own interest.
So much for that. On January 10, 2012, the Seattle Timesreported the following about the SPD misinformation to which Dominic referred:
Police initially said that other officers who responded to the shooting call reported that Powell had used excessive force and engaged in unprofessional conduct at the scene.
But police later revised their account, saying no other officer reported the conduct. Rather, a sergeant who routinely screened the arrest learned of it when he asked Powell's partner what had happened.
The partner told the sergeant to ask Powell, and when he did, Powell explained what had happened, police said.