Many comparisons have been made between how police handled the storming of the U.S. Capitol by President Donald Trump's supporters on Wednesday and how Black Lives Matter protesters were treated last summer.

Civil rights attorney Fred Brewington told News 12 the methods used by police were "night and day."

"The Black Lives Matters protesters were treated with a high level of militaristic response," said Brewington. "…In [Washington] , these protesters were welcomed…and they allowed them to just go completely across into the Capitol unfettered."

President-elect Joe Biden wondered aloud in remarks Wednesday what would the response have been if the mob was Black Lives Matter protesters instead of Trump supporters.

"There's no question that they have been treated with a level of force that would have required us to have to have blood mopped up from the streets of Washington, D.C," said Brewington.

Images from Washington, D.C. appeared to show officers opener barricades for rioters and one even seeming to pose for a photo.

Brewington says Black Lives Matter supporters were largely people of color and were treated as "outlanders."

Counterterrorism expert Denis Monette says law enforcement appeared totally unprepared for the assault on the Capitol, even though they knew tens of thousands would descend on Washington.

"They should have sat down and had a plan, we're going to have all these people, it's going to be peaceful, etc., and then you have to have a backup plan that is ready to go," says Monette.

Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund is due to resign his post next week over the response.

Most Long Islanders who spoke with News 12 say they were appalled by violence they saw this week -- but there are disagreements about how the situation was handled by police. Some say they saw no double standard between the two groups.

"I don't think one was treated worse than the other in terms of rioting," says one person.