Several "racist e-mails" from the public during the Tamil protest dishearten Chief Vern White, who says he has never seen that side of Ottawa.

White accepts that anyone can send him an e-mail, but he was shocked by the hateful messages people sent to him when the Tamils blocked Wellington St. for several days last month.

"It doesn't mean I'm accepting of what shows up on that screen, so that bothered me," White said. "I had not seen that part of anybody in this city since I've been here, and it bothered me a lot."

The Tamil protest lasted two weeks and cost Ottawa police roughly $900,000.

White told the Sun's editorial board yesterday that he understands the demonstrators wanted to get their message out, but the length it took was irksome.

"I'm not happy with the demonstration," White said. "As a matter of fact, they could have got their message out in 24 hours. It didn't have to be 15 days."

AWAY ON HOLIDAYS

White said he was away on holidays during the protest, and while he conceded he would have handled communications differently, he stood by the decisions his officers made in his absence.

"I probably would have five hours into this been in front of the press saying what I just said to you," White said. "But that's me, that's about Vern White, it's not about the organization. The organization managed it as I would have expected and I accept the way they managed it."

White said he "got the s--- kicked out of me in e-mails" from people frustrated with the street closures. He said he didn't receive the same number of e-mails during the recent transit strike, or when Elgin St. was closed for Ottawa Senators playoff celebrations in 2007.

Arresting and charging Tamil demonstrators would have been futile because it was a peaceful demonstration and there probably would have been no court convictions, White said.

"I think I would have been chastised ... for those actions," White said.