File photo of US President Barack Obama at the White House in Washington. (Associated Press)
President Barack Obama says many Americans are "troubled" by the video showing police wrestling to the ground a New York man who later died.
Obama says having video of these types of incidents provides an opportunity to have difficult conversations. He says being able to see these situations play out makes it harder to argue that "maybe blacks are exaggerating" about aggressive police behavior.
The White House has said Obama watched the video of Eric Garner's encounter with police. The officer involved in the incident was not indicted. That intensified protests around the country already underway after a grand jury in Ferguson, Missouri did not indict a police officer in the shooting death of 18-year-old Michael Brown.
The president's comments came in an interview with BET that aired Monday.