Obama after making a statement following the announcement of the grand jury’s decision in the shooting death of unarmed black teenager Michael Brown in Ferguson. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

In the wake of a grand jury’s decision not to indict officer Darren Wilson in the death of unarmed teenager Michael Brown, President Obama urged peaceful protests.

“First and foremost, we are a nation built on the rule of law. And so, we need to accept that this decision was the grand jury’s to make,” Obama said. “There are Americans who agree with it, and there are Americans who are deeply disappointed, even angry. It’s an understandable reaction.”

In his nine-minute speech, Obama urged peaceful protests and restraint from officers in Ferguson, Mo., where conflicts between demonstrators and law enforcement officials in riot gear continue.

“We need to recognize that the situation in Ferguson speaks to broader challenges that we still face as a nation,” Obama said. “The fact is in too many parts of this country a deep distrust exists between law enforcement and communities of color. Some of this is the result of the legacy of racial discrimination in this country. And this is tragic because nobody needs good policing more than poor communities with higher crime rates.”

Obama concluded by saying he was “confident that if we focus our attention on the problem and we look at what has happened in communities around the country effectively, then we can make progress not just in Ferguson but in a lot of other cities and communities around the country.”