President Obama made a surprise appearance before the press today to address a story that has been generating much discussion in the United States over the past few days, the arrest of a prominent African-American Harvard University professor.

Earlier this week, Professor Henry Louis Gates was arrested for disorderly conduct after police came to Gates’ home upon reports of a suspected break-in, and found Gates struggling with his own front door. The charges were later dropped. When asked about the case July 22, Obama said “Cambridge police acted stupidly in arresting somebody when there was already proof he was in his own home,” a statement police officials said was offensive.

At the Friday press conference, Obama said he spoke with the officer who arrested Gates and told the officer that he understood his previous words left “an impression that I was maligning the Cambridge police department,” an impression he did not want to make.

The fact that this incident has received so much attention, Obama said “is a testimony to the fact that these are issues that are still very sensitive here in America … Because of our history, because of the difficulties of the past, you know, African Americans are sensitive to these issues.”

The president said he hopes this incident becomes a “teachable moment” in which Americans spend more time “listening to each other and try to focus on how we can generally improve relations between police officers and minority communities, and that instead of flinging accusations, we can all be a little more reflective, in terms of what we can do to contribute to more unity.”