“We’ve had two of the worst weeks in American history in recent times,” Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter said as a guest on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”

Accompanied by Philadelphia Police Commissioner Charles H. Ramsey, Nutter talked about the civil unrest nationwide since the deaths of African Americans Michael Brown and Eric Garner at the hands of white police officers.

"You, in essence, have the citizens who want to be protected, who are now increasingly afraid of the police. And you have some police officers who are increasingly afraid of the community,” Nutter said.

Last week, Philadelphia Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey was appointed by President Obama as co-chairman of a new task force created to reduce crime and build public trust in policing. "There's been a lot of research in policing about effectiveness of strategies. High-spot policing, foot patrols, things of that nature,” Ramsey said. “But very little, if any, on the after-effects of such strategies in terms of alienation of communities. And that's what we have to take a look at, what's the collateral damage that's caused when we engage in certain policing strategies?”

The White House also announced a “Community Policing Initiative”, that includes a proposed three-year, $263 million investment package to increase use of body-worn cameras among law enforcement officers.