Members of Ottawa's Lebanese and Arab communities met with police Tuesday evening to ease tensions that erupted after an off-duty police officer was charged with assaulting an Ottawa cab driver. (Johnny Keogh/CBC)

A meeting was held Tuesday night to help improve relations between Ottawa police and the city's Lebanese and Arab communities.

Police felt it was important to create a dialogue with the two groups, said Ottawa police Chief Verne White.

White said Ottawa's Lebanese community has been upset since an off-duty police officer was charged with assaulting cab driver Sami Aldoboni, 43, at the Ottawa International Airport in May.

The gathering, which was held at St. Elias Antiochian Orthodox Cathedral on Riverside Drive, was intended to ease tensions after the incident but also to improve relations in general, said White.

The Lebanese and Arab Social Service Agency of Ottawa (LASSA), the Ottawa Police Service and the Ottawa Police Services Board organized the meeting.

"At this event, I learned the relationship is different — even within the Lebanese community, the relationship's not the same, which is important for us to understand," said White.

"But as well, I think I learned that we have a lot of people out there who believe we're on the right path, even if we're not where we need to be."

Ghadeer Abou-Shakra, who spoke to the crowd, said she thinks everyone has something to learn when it comes to the relationship between the two groups.

"Every time I think about it, I'm in shock. I'm really sad that that happened," she said speaking about her experience dealing with Ottawa police.

Abou-Shakra said she was walking to work near the corner of Albert and Bank streets when someone kicked her.

When she reported the incident to police, she said she thought the fact that she's Palestinian-Canadian and wears a headscarf might have something to do with what happened.

Abou-Shakra said she felt intimidated having to speak to an officer through bullet-proof glass to explain what she felt was a hate crime.

She said she was told an investigator would follow-up with her but that hasn't happened.

White said he admits that an opportunity was missed.

"We may not have a solution, we may not have an offender, we may not have a charge, but at least she should feel respected in making that complaint, and she didn't feel respected in that form," said White.

White told Abou-Shakra that an officer would respond to her report, and Abou-Shakra said she'd be waiting.