Wash. Police Seek `Good Samaritan` Who Touched Evidence After Chin Killing

July 28--Seattle police are searching for a man they're calling "a well-intentioned good Samaritan" who picked up evidence near the site where activist Donnie Chin was fatally shot Thursday morning.

Spokesman Sgt. Sean Whitcomb said the person they're looking for picked up some bullet casings outside crime-scene tape set up at the site where Chin was killed. The man handed the shell casings to investigators, he said.

"We want to eliminate him from any potential suspect pool," Whitcomb said. "Because we are conducting a forensic analysis of evidence located at the scene, we want to make sure the person is handled as a witness."

The man is described as an African American with a thin build who is about 6 feet tall. He was wearing a white brim hat, glasses and a green argyle shirt, according to police.

Anyone with information on the man is asked to call the Seattle Police Department Homicide Unit at 206-684-5550.

Chin was the unofficial security force for Chinatown International District for almost 50 years.

Chin started the International District Emergency Center (IDEC) almost single-handedly without any financial compensation when he was in junior high school because he felt like police and medics had slow response times to the Seattle neighborhood. The center, which was Chin's only place of employment, survived over the years on donations and grants.

Police say Chin was killed near Eighth Avenue South and South Weller Street just before 3 a.m. Thursday. Officers who responded to the reports of gunfire found Chin inside a car with windows that had been shot out.

In an effort to find the gunman, police have reviewed video surveillance captured near where Chin was shot.

On Sunday night, hundreds of people turned out at Hing Hay Park for a memorial service illuminated by glow sticks and candles.

"He was not that perfect man, because he was one of the biggest, softest tough guys with the foulest mouth," Teresita Batayola, the chief executive officer of International Community Health Services, said during the gathering.

Information from Seattle Times archives is included in this report. Jennifer Sullivan: 206-464-8294 or jensullivan@seattletimes.com. On Twitter @SeattleSullivan

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