The power of amateur video is its ability to take us inside an event, to make us feel like participants instead of spectators.
And so many times in 2014, amateur video told a story no traditional news camera ever could: From the Ottawa shooting, to the infamous “I can’t breathe” video, from the front lines of Afghanistan to the tarmac of Toronto’s Pearson Airport.
These are the most powerful, dramatic and unforgettable amateur videos of 2014.
Video captures frantic gun battle inside Parliament buildings
A brazen attack by a lone gunman in Ottawa shocked the nation this past October when Michael Zehaf Bibeau killed Canadian reservist, Nathan Cirillo, before storming Parliament, engaging security in a gun battle, and finally being brought down by the Sergeant-at-Arms Kevin Vickers.
Yet of all the powerful and shocking images of that tragic day, none is more effecting than the cellphone footage taken from within the Parliament buildings themselves.
The video was shot by Globe and Mail reporter Josh Wingrove, and captures those frantic moments where gunshots rang out in the home of Canada’s democracy.
Eric Garner is choked to death by NYPD officers while saying “I can’t breathe”
Surely no other amateur video did as much to stir debate, action and controversy both in the U.S. and around the world this year as the infamous video showing Eric Garner’s death at the hands of the NYPD.
Garner, 43, died on July 17 after NYPD officer Daniel Pantaleo attempted to arrest him for allegedly selling untaxed cigarettes. A cellphone video of the incident showed Pantaleo putting Garner in a chokehold, which is banned by NYPD policy.
In the video, Garner, who had asthma, was heard repeatedly saying, “I can’t breathe!” He later died in hospital. His death spurred large protests both in New York and across North America.
U.S. Marine sniper survives shot to the head
A U.S. Marine’s helmet camera captured the incredible moment a sniper was saved by some unbelieveable good luck.
A video of three U.S. Marines conducting an operation in southern Afghanistan shows one Marine surviving a direct headshot from a Taliban sniper.
The lucky Marine later inspects his helmet, where the only visible damage appears to be a tear on the camouflage cover.
Bizarre attack on Edmonton ETS train caught on camera
A video taken on an Edmonton Transit System (ETS) train this past May appears to show a woman behaving in a bizarre manner, and then attacking a fellow passenger.
In the video, a young woman is seen looking through her purse when she starts exhibiting strange and violent behavior.
She grabs her hair and head before reaching out and grabbing the neck of the male passenger next to her.
Global News has been unable to verify the reason for the alleged attack.
Tactical team storms Sunwing flight following threat
A tactical police team stormed a Sunwing plane at Toronto’s Pearson International Airport this past July after a passenger on board made a “direct threat” against the plane, according to a Sunwing spokesperson.
A passenger captured the moment the tactical team boarded the plane, giving us a front row seat to the tense moment as the heavily-armed officers storm the plane’s passenger cabin.
Police officer brutal beating of woman caught on camera
The brutal beating of a homeless woman by a California Highway Patrol officer was captured on video this past August, further spurring the debate about police use of force and militarization in the U.S.
Marlene Pinnock said she thought she was going to die as a California Highway Patrol officer straddled her, repeatedly punching her head, on the side of a Los Angeles freeway.
The attack prompted a full investigation by the California Highway Patrol. Pinnock was later released from the hospital after several weeks of treatment.
Man killed by tiger after climbing into enclosure at New Delhi zoo
An India man’s curiosity and lack of good sense led to this shocking amateur video taken this past September.
Despite repeated warnings that he shouldn’t get too close to the outdoor enclosure, the man eventually climbed over a knee-high fence, through some small hedges, then jumped down 18 feet into a protective moat.
The white tiger who called the enclosure home attacked and eventually killed the man.
Tony Stewart hits and kills on-foot driver during sprint car race
NASCAR driver Tony Stewart struck and killed a fellow sprint car driver walking on the track during a race in upstate New York this past August.
Driver Kevin Ward Jr. got out of his car to confront Stewart on the track when he was struck and killed.
The video shows the horrifying moment Stewart’s car strikes Ward as he walks towards Stewart’s car, apparently in anger.
A grand jury eventually cleared Stewart of any wrongdoing in the fatal crash which claimed Kevin Ward Jr.’s life.
New Mexico police open fire on homeless man
The police shooting of a mentally unstable homeless man in Albuquerque, New Mexico this past September – and the later release of audio recordings from the same shooting – incited tremendous controversy in the southern U.S. state.
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