Donnie Chin

Donald Gregory Chin (October 7, 1955 – July 23, 2015) was an American activist and community leader who founded and operated the International District Emergency Center (IDEC). Chin founded IDEC with childhood friend and photojournalist Dean Wong in 1968, due to slow response times by Seattle police and fire services to emergency calls in the Chinatown-International District (CID). In the early hours of July 23, 2015, Chin was shot and killed during a gun battle between two rival groups. As of 2025, his murder remains unsolved.

Early life Donald Gregory Chin was born in Seattle on October 7, 1955, as one of three children to Dun Hing "Don" Chin and Myra Chin (née Mar). Don Chin immigrated from Taishan, Guangdong at seven years old. The Chin family operated Sun May Company, a gift shop in Canton Alley in the CID, started by Don Chin's father Shong Chin in 1911. Don Chin helped start the Seattle Chinese Chamber of Commerce in 1963.

Having been radicalized as a student by the Asian American Movement, Donnie Chin teamed up with his friend Dean Wong in 1967 and created Asians for Unity, The group patrolled the streets of the CID in an effort to keep the neighborhood safe. This effort became the International District Emergency Center.

Career In 1968, Chin and Wong founded the International District Emergency Center (IDEC, pronounced I.D.E.C.). IDEC provided a community-led solution to slow emergency response times in Seattle's Chinatown-International District (CID), a historically under-served diverse neighborhood. Chin also identified a significant gap in emergency services: the 9-1-1 phone line did not offer bilingual interpretation at the time. IDEC staffed an English and Chinese language phone line to receive emergency calls. IDEC also maintained collaborative relationships with City and County emergency services. The organization worked with the local fire station, which supported IDEC in turn by providing volunteer labor and financial donations. During this time, Chin continued to attend Garfield High School. As Ron Chew, former editor of the International Examiner and executive director of the International Community Health Services Foundation stated, “Donnie Chin was the eyes and ears of the neighborhood." The Seattle Police Department cordoned off the crime scene on 8th Avenue S between S King St and S Lane St. It was later determined that Chin had been killed in a shootout between rival gangs while he was responding to an emergency phone call. As of 2025, the murder case remains unsolved. Community members left flowers and origami cranes at Sun May Company. The Seattle Police Department, Mayor Ed Murray, Governor Jay Inslee, and former King County Executive Ron Sims also issued public statements in tribute to Chin.

Legacy

In February 2016, the Organization of Chinese Americans (OCA) in Seattle launched a campaign to rename the International District Children's Park to Donnie Chin International Children's Park. Chin was called "instrumental in the creation of the park", as he had identified the need for a children's park in the CID during the 1970s. City of Seattle Parks and Recreation standard policy requires renaming requests to wait until three years after death. In June 2016, the Seattle City Council voted unanimously to rename the park, making an exception for Donnie Chin.

In May 2019, Chin was posthumously awarded InterIm Community Development Association's Bob Santos Leadership in Sustainability Award. Connie Chin-Magorty, Chin's sister, agreed to accept the award on his behalf because Chin and Santos were very close and she respected InterIm.