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Meeting with city leaders, community organizers and regional law enforcement Friday in Chicago, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder sought to take a step to repair the tense relationship between officers and the communities they serve.

Following the deaths of unarmed black men in Ferguson, Mo., and New York City, as well as widespread protests over those deaths, Holder said government leaders must reckon with a breakdown in trust between the community and police.

"We have to try to come up with ways to deal with that issue," Holder said as the meeting began. "I think the way to deal with those issues is to confront them head-on, to have meetings like this."

Holder's appearance was part of a six-city tour to address unrest about police tactics. He met with U.S. Attorney Zachary Fardon and Mayor Rahm Emanuel, among others. The roundtable discussion was an hourlong, closed-door session.

But guests who attended said Holder wanted to listen to the young black and Latino students who walk the streets and encounter the police.

Maurice Sanders, 16, a student at Fenger High School, told Holder that because he stands more than 6 feet tall and has a hefty build, police often mistake him for an adult.

"I've been stopped four or five times," he said. "I don't know if it's because they see me as a threat, because of what I'm wearing."

He said he had also had good experiences with police.

"One time I was in Radio Shack trying to buy a music player," he said. "I didn't have enough money. The cop paid it for me."

Holder's visit comes during a wave of national and international protests as residents, activists and community leaders have taken to the streets to draw attention to what they say is a pattern of police abuse, mainly against African-Americans. The deaths of Eric Garner in New York and Michael Brown in Ferguson have been the sparks for most of the protests.

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Eric Holder visits Chicago to discuss police tactics in U.S.