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WASHINGTON -- Defending the Black Lives Matter movement, President Barack Obama said Thursday the protests are giving voice to a problem happening only in African-American communities, adding, "We, as a society, particularly given our history, have to take this seriously."

Mr. Obama said the movement, which sprung up after the deaths of unarmed black men in Florida, Missouri and elsewhere, quickly came to be viewed as being opposed to police and suggesting that other people's lives don't matter. Opponents have countered that "all lives matter."

The nationwide "Black Lives Matter" movement that formed after 18-year-old Michael Brown was shot and killed by a white police officer in Ferguson, Missouri has sought sweeping reforms of policing. Related protests erupted in Texas recently after a 28-year-old Chicago-area black woman, Sandra Bland, was found dead in a county jail about 50 miles northwest of Houston three days after her arrest on a traffic violation. Texas authorities said she committed suicide but her family is skeptical of that.

At the conclusion of a White House forum on criminal justice, the president said he wanted to make a final point about the nexus of race and the criminal justice system before launching into his defense of the movement.

"I think everybody understands all lives matter," Mr. Obama said. "I think the reason that the organizers used the phrase 'Black Lives Matter' was not because they were suggesting nobody else's lives matter. Rather, what they were suggesting was there is a specific problem that's happening in the African-American community that's not happening in other communities.

"And that is a legitimate issue that we've got to address."

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People take part in a rally on April 29, 2015 at Union Square in New York, held in solidarity with demonstrators in Baltimore, Maryland demanding justice for an African-American man who died of severe spinal injuries sustained in police custody.

EDUARDO MUNOZ ALVAREZ/AFP/Getty Images

Mr. Obama paired his defense of the Black Lives Matter movement with praise for police and other law enforcement officials. Some police groups have been unhappy with the president's response to the deaths of unarmed black people. The president lately seems to be making the extra effort to publicly praise police officers for willingly taking on a dangerous assignment.

He did so while participating in a forum on drug abuse Wednesday in Charleston, West Virginia, and next week he's scheduled to address the International Association of Chiefs of Police.

At the White House, Mr. Obama said there are specific concerns about whether blacks in certain areas are treated unfairly or are more frequently subjected to excessive force by police.

But the president said people should also "understand the overwhelming majority of law enforcement's doing the right thing and wants to do the right thing" and "recognize that police officers have a really tough job and we're sending them into really tough neighborhoods that sometimes are really dangerous and they've got to make split-second decisions."

He said people shouldn't be "too sanctimonious" about situations that can sometimes be ambiguous.

"But having said all that, we as a society, particularly given our history, have to take this seriously," Mr. Obama said. "And one of the ways of avoiding the politics of this and losing the moment is everybody just stepping back for a second and understanding that the African-American community is not just making this up."

"It's not just something being politicized. It's real and there's a history behind it and we have to take it seriously," he said.

In a separate development, the Black Lives Matter organization on Thursday rejected a town hall-style forum it had been offered by the Democratic National Committee, in lieu of a sanctioned debate it had requested. The group said a town hall wouldn't "sufficiently respond to the concerns raised by our members." The DNC said it has approved only six debates, and all have been scheduled.

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Lawyers for one of the wounded law enforcement officers filed the complaint Friday in US District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana against various arms of the Black Lives Matter movement and leaders including DeRay Mckesson and Johnetta Elzie.

The complaint alleges Black Lives Matter and its leaders are responsible for the shooting because they "incited the violence against police in retaliation for the death (sic) of black men shot by police," and "did nothing to dissuade the ongoing violence and injury to police."

"In fact, they justified the violence as necessary to the movement and war," the complaint says.

The person who filed the lawsuit is named in the complaint only as Officer John Doe Smith. It says he is 42 with two children and is permanently disabled as a result of the numerous injuries he suffered in the ambush.

Smith, the complaint says, was shot through his abdomen, left shoulder and left side of his head. The shot to his abdomen "tore up his intestines," requiring 16 surgeries and causing recurring infections. Medical staff must attend to the exit wound daily, it says.

The shot to Smith's head almost tore off his left ear, which needed to be sewn back on, the complaint says. His skull was shattered and he lost brain matter on the left side, in an area controlling communication. His left eye stays mostly closed with the eyeball turned outward, it says.

"John Doe Police Officer was strong and vibrant and he has been struggling everyday, fighting to live, and fighting to get better," the complaint says. It seeks at least $75,000 in compensatory damages.

It is not clear why the officer filed the complaint under a pseudonym.

Donna Grodner, the attorney for the officer who filed the suit, told CNN she wasn't authorized to speak about the case.

The Baton Rouge victims

Armed with a rifle, he fatally shot Officers Matthew Gerald, 41, and Montrell Jackson, 32, outside the store as soon as he saw them.

Sheriff's Deputy Brad Garafola, who apparently was responding to reports of a man with a rifle, heard the shots and took cover, but then ran to help one of the downed officers. That's when Long opened fire, killing Garafola.

Long then shot Officer Chad Montgomery, who had pulled up in front of the building. The bullet grazed his head.

In a nearby parking lot, Sheriff's Deputy Nicholas Tullier, then 41, was in his cruiser to run the tag on Long's car when the gunman emerged from the woods and opened fire, shooting as he walked toward the vehicle.

Tullier was shot once in the head and twice in the abdomen and was in a coma for months.

Long took shots at another arriving deputy, Bruce Simmons, 51, shattering the bone from his elbow to his shoulder. Simmons now has a titanium rod in his arm.

SWAT officers then arrived on scene and shot Long in the leg, causing him to fall to the ground. As Long reached for his weapon, five SWAT officers fired, killing him.

Lawsuit: Black Lives Matter 'declared war' on police

The complaint describes in detail numerous protests that erupted across the country over several years, spurred by the shooting deaths of black men at the hands of police, and lists instances of violence, looting and vandalism at protests in Ferguson, Missouri; Baltimore; McKinney, Texas; Dallas and Baton Rouge.

The suit notes Mckesson's involvement in Black Lives Matter, and it points to his participation in the protests and his appearances in the media when he was introduced as a leader of the movement or a protest organizer.

When violence erupted at some of the protests, the complaint says, Mckesson and other Black Lives Matter leaders "failed to disavow the violence and urged its followers that violence was part of revolution," the complaint says.

"By embracing and supporting violence in protest that could have been conducted peacefully, BLM declared a virtual war on police," it says.

When reached for comment, Mckesson told CNN, "This is the second lawsuit an officer has filed against me from Baton Rouge. ... I'm confident it has no merit."

Elzie had no comment, and other defendants from Black Lives Matter could not be immediately reached for comment.

Baton Rouge ambush 'mimicked' Dallas attack

Mckesson and Elzie were present for protests in Baton Rouge in July 2016 held in response to the officer-involved shooting deaths of Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge and Philando Castile near Minneapolis earlier that month.

The suit says they came to protest and "to incite others to violence against police and other law enforcement officers."

Mckesson was arrested during the protests on July 9, though he told CNN days later the arrest was unlawful because he was complying with police requests to move back at the time.

The lawsuit also says Long's actions when he killed the Baton Rouge officers "followed and mimicked those of another BLM activist who killed several officers in Dallas just days earlier."

Investigators identified the Dallas gunman as Micah Xavier Johnson, 25, a military veteran who had served in Afghanistan.

Long, who acted alone in the shooting, traveled to Baton Rouge after stopping in Dallas shortly after the shooting to get revenge for the recent killings, the complaint says, suggesting that Black Lives Matter encouraged the behavior.

CNN's Shawn Nottingham and Melissa Gray contributed to this report.

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Lawsuit against Black Lives Matter, DeRay Mckesson ... - CNN

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The protesters say the officer was involved in the shooting of Stephon Clark, an unarmed black man who was shot eight times in his grandmother's yard. USA TODAY

A Black Lives Matter protester holds an illustration of Stephon Clark during a march and demonstration through the streets of Sacramento.(Photo: Justin Sullivan, Getty Images)

Black Lives Matter activists in Sacramento say they crashed the wedding of an officer allegedly involved in the fatal shooting of Stephon Clark, an unarmed 22-year-old black man.

A group of activists found a website with the officer'swedding informationand three people showed up at the venue hours before the ceremony on Sunday, according toTanya Faison, the founder of the Sacramento's Black Lives Matter chapter.

"It let him know that were still paying attention to him, we're still paying attention, we still want charges," she said. "Hopefullyhe remembers that for the rest of his life."

Faisonsaid the protest was meant to hold law enforcementaccountable.

"They're living their lives like nothing happened," she said. "Theyre not seeing any types of repercussions for their actions."

More: How social media has shaped Black Lives Matter, five years later

A 25-second video postedon social media shows the group entering a room and confronting the officer and his apparent groomsmen.

I just wondered if you started planning your wedding before you killed Stephon Clark or after? said a woman in the video. And how youve been sleeping since March 18?

Clark was shot eight times in his grandmothers backyard by two police officers who said they thought he was holding a gun. It turned out to be a cellphone, and his death sparked days ofprotests and community anger.

Stephon Clark, 22, died in a hail of police gunfire in the backyard of his grandmother Sequita Thompson's home in Sacramento, Calif.(Photo: AP)

The investigation into the shooting is ongoing.

The Sacramento Police Department has not released the names of the officers involved in the shooting.

Police say although the officers are not working in a patrol capacity, they have needed additional security and have received a number of death threats since the shooting, according to CBS13 Sacramento.

More: Stephon Clark killing: Coroner report differs from private autopsy of police shooting

The police department released a statement via email saying it is aware of this incident. The statement continues:

We take these matters seriously. The safety of our officers is a priority, as well as that of their families. We will continue to take measures to ensure their safety.

We are extremely proud of the professionalism our officers have displayed while faced with ongoing hostile crowds and intense situations.

We are committed to transparency, integrity, and working with our community to move forward. Incidents such as these are not in line in with our goal of building trust and positive partnerships with our entire community.

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Black Lives Matter activists confront cop in Stephon Clark ...

SACRAMENTO One of the two officers who shot and killed Stephon Clark in March was confronted by Black Lives Matter protesters on his wedding day Saturday, reports CBS Sacramento. Police haven't released the names of the two officers who opened fire on Clark in his grandmother's backyard, due to safety concerns.

The small group of protesters had gotten word about the wedding and made sure they were there just hours before the officer was to say, "I do."

"I think they need to be approached in spaces where they're a little more vulnerable," Sacramento BLM founder Tanya Faison told the station.

According to the video released by Black Lives Matter, the officer was gathered in a room with his groomsmen Saturday when protesters barged in.

"I just wonder if you started planning your wedding before you killed Stephon Clark or after? How have you been sleeping since March 18?" said one protester in the video.

Protesters confronted a Sacramento, California, police officer and his groomsmen on the officer's wedding day in this image capture from video provided by Black Lives Matter.

Black Lives Matter

BLM says its members helped plan the confrontation ever since they found the officer's wedding website online, with information about the venue, a vineyard about an hour outside of Sacramento.

"We're not violent, we're not gonna give to them what they brought to our community, we're not gonna hurt anyone, but we are gonna make them uncomfortable, and they should -- because someone is dead," said Faison.

But community member Michel Keeley told CBS Sacramento, "As a black man I'm concerned whenever there's injustice on any black person. Certainly there's a right to protest, but I think there are limits when to protest in a public place and the right of privacy for your wedding."

Sacramento police say since the tragic shooting back in March, the two officers involved have needed additional security. They've received a number of death threats and are not working in a patrol capacity.

"People may think that these officers are just going about their lives, but this is a very traumatic event for everyone," said Sgt. Vance Chandler with Sacramento Police.

The case, which drew national attention and sparked protests across the country, is still under investigation, with no word from the DA's office on whether the officers will be indicted.

A day after the March 18 shooting, police distributed a press release that said the officers who shot Clark "saw the suspect facing them, advance forward with his arms extended, and holding an object in his hands."

Police video of the shooting doesn't clearly capture all that happened after Clark ran into the backyard. He initially moved toward the officers, who are peeking out from behind a corner of the house, but it's not clear he's facing them or that he knows they are there when they open fire after shouting "gun, gun, gun."

After 20 shots, officers call to him, apparently believing he might still be alive and armed. They eventually approach and find no gun, just a cellphone.

"I feel that our department has handled demonstrations and protests very well and we have taken great effort's to allow people to exercise their First Amendment rights but on this one what is the purpose of this?" he said.

That purpose, said Faison, is to remind folks that people are still hurting.

"Stephon Clark's family is still mourning and suffering. He doesn't get to be with his kids, or get married," she said.

Sacramento Police Officers Association President Timothy Davis responded to the wedding protest Monday night.

"The SPOA supports transparency within our Police Department. Transparency brings trust," he said. "Trust between our officers and the citizens they protect is an important aspect of a safe community. Our police officers are members of this community. They raise their families here. The send their children to schools here. They live their lives as a part of this community.

"Transparency comes with responsibility. Officers deserve to be free from harassment by individuals seeking their own forms of justice. True accountability can only come from our impartial judicial system and from our elected government.

"The SPOA will continue to advocate for transparency and thoughtful improvements in police policies, but we request the respect of our community. Give our officers the ability to safely raise their families alongside you."

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Black Lives Matter protesters crash wedding of cop who ...