Washington (CNN) FBI Director James Comey took on the issue of police and race relations Thursday challenging police to avoid "lazy mental short-cuts" that can lead to bias in the way they treat blacks and other minorities.

While he asked minority communities dealing with issues of high crime to also recognize the inherent dangers officers face in trying to keep them safe, Comey was also critical of the history law enforcement in the country, which he described as "not pretty," but also the racial tensions have plagued American society as a whole.

"I worry that this incredibly important and difficult conversation about race and policing has become focused entirely on the nature and character of law enforcement officers when it should also be about something much harder to discuss," Comey said. "Debating the nature of policing is very important but I worry that it has become an excuse at times to avoid doing something harder."

The speech before students at Georgetown University was unusual for Comey and the FBI, which usually only narrowly discusses race issues when dealing with civil rights investigations.

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