Wild and Funny Moments Captured on Video Surveillance

Video surveillance technology has been keeping homes safe and office buildings secure for many years. In addition to deterring trespassers, surveillance cameras provide footage necessary for identifying suspects in shop thefts, bank robberies and other illegal activities. Surveillance footage has also been the source of numerous laughs via clips made public of unsuspecting people doing silly, outrageous, clumsy and downright crazy things at moments when it seemed no one was watching. The following clips are among the most unintentionally funny moments caught by surveillance cameras around the world.

Oh, What a Relief It Is

Only the lonely feel no shame — at least when they’re behind closed doors. But for one man caught on a CCTV surveillance camera in the dead of night along the sidewalk of an unspecified locale, there was no shame when nature called. Footage shows him walking up the street toward the overhead lens, only to turn and face the street — sideways to the camera — to drop his drawers and unleash some recent meals with all the aim of a pigeon. Fortunately, the late-noughties video clip is distant and pixelated enough to not be nearly as disgusting for us as it must have been for the nearby alley rats on that fateful night.

I Ain’t ‘Fraid of No…

 

“If there’s something strange / in your neighborhood / Who you gonna call?” Seriously, the townsfolk of Parma, Ohio, might just need a local Ghostbusters chapter, or at least they could have back in 2007, when a floating blue thing was caught by surveillance cameras at Marathon gas station on the corner of State and Pleasant Valley. Footage shows the apparition hover in front of a window outside the adjoined convenience store.

Eventually, the blue presence floats downward to rest on the windshield of a parked, white vehicle before drifting upward and away. No one knows what the presence could have been, but locals flocked the station at the time to catch their own glimpses of this apparent ghost. One longtime local theorized it could have been a tribal spirit from an Indian reservation that once existed on the same grounds where the station now stands. Whatever it may have been, a reporter for the local news quipped it definitely wasn’t the ghost of cheap gas prices.

Hold ‘Em Up, Comic Book Style

In today’s world of cosplay, dressing like a ninja is unlikely to bat an eye no matter where you go. Back in 2007, however, a pair of sword–wielding ninjas weren’t playing when they walked into a Midwest Sunoco and overpowered the store clerk in an attempted heist. Though they managed to collect all the cash in the register, the two suspects — believed to be female — failed to open the big safe that contained most of the store’s cash supply. Nonetheless, they made off with a bag full of cigarette cartons and pre-scratched lottery tickets. Now that must have raised their odds. Police investigating the matter cared less about the pair’s choice in attire and more about their choice in weapons.

Let Me Have That Toy, Little Boy

When a robber pulls a weapon, the best thing to do is obey. When a robber chooses an odd, short-range utensil he apparently has no skill at using, the best thing to do is play along until he jinxes himself. In one incredibly clumsy 2014 attempted robbery, footage shows a teenaged would-be bandit trying to rob a station clerk in an unspecified, Asian-community establishment.

Hoping to show the clerk he’s serious, the boy momentarily holds a small woman hostage with a meat cleaver, which he proceeds to swing up and down through thin air in an attempt to seem intimidating. The clerk appeases the boy, who quickly fills his duffel bag and heads for the exit, which turns out to be locked. As he struggles to break out, security guards approach him from behind. Backed into rows of chairs, the boy feebly swings his cleaver, but the guards have bigger weapons in hand: a push broom and a baton.

If He’s Light Enough for the Pillion, He Ain’t Heavy Enough for the Heist

Balancing acts are usually planned with contingencies in mind. When a pair of burglars show up on one motorcycle, the plan is simple: One goes inside to get the loot, while the other stays at the bike for a fast getaway. The worst that can happen is the cops might arrive before the partner comes back out, in which case the rider might have to flee on his own.

In footage captured across the street from a business named Mercadinho, however, things went as no one would have planned. The pair pulls up on a motorcycle, and the pillion rider runs inside to do the deed. Seconds pass by, but instead of emerging from the business triumphantly, the burglar is thrown bodily out the window. Before the now-shirtless burglar can remount the passenger seat, his partner zooms off without him.

Come On, You Knuckleheads! We Gotta’ Get Them Knuckleheads!

When it comes to catching bad guys, few busts could run smoother than when a pair of squad cars corners the getaway vehicle perpendicularly while the latter sits parked against a curb with the suspects huddled inside. Such was the case for a police team responding to one daylight robbery in an uptown neighborhood, where footage shows three suspicious men running outside and into their getaway car with large bags in hand.

Hitting the gas, they barely drive a foot before two police cars pull up sideways in what appears to be a barricade. Jumping from their vehicles, police officers run towards the suspects’ car… and run right past it without stopping to storm the building the trio just exited! This gives the burglars all the time they need to weasel their way around the two cop cars to make a getaway. As soon as they disappear, the police team emerges from the building, looking up and down the street in exasperation. They got away!

Splash Goes the Caviar Soirée

To the connoisseur of fine wine, price is prestige. Some of the world’s most dedicated tasters will pay upwards of five figures for wines bottled decades ago in the vineyards of France and Italy. Even liquor departments in the U.S. Midwest are noted for carrying wines that boast three-figure prices. At one department in Sheboygan, Wisc., this gave way to a splash of cash in one crash when a wall-spanning shelf stocked with hundreds of bottles came loose at one end and instantly toppled over. At an average retail price of $149.00 per bottle, you could say it was more than just a case of sour grapes gone down the drain.

Hi, Trish, I’m in the Street-Level Concourse. Meet Me in the…YIKES!

For a lot of people, smartphones have become an extension of the human body. You can’t work without one, shop without one or dine without one. Chances are you can’t even sleep without one at your bedside. While laws have been passed against texting and driving, one woman made an unintended argument against texting and walking when doing so plunged her straight into a fountain at Berkshire Mall in Reading, Penn.

Surveillance footage shows the woman — merchandise in her left hand, smartphone in her right — fixated on her device while proceeding through a concourse, oblivious to the fountain in her trajectory. With a step too far, she plunges straight over the knee-high fountain edge and plunges face-down into the water. At least she had nothing to be embarrassed about: Her only witness appears to have been the camera.

Mushrooms, Olives, Sundried Tomatoes and…Mothballs?

Everyone loves pizza. With so many toppings to choose from, it’s perhaps the favorite dish throughout America among meat-eaters and vegetarians alike. Sometimes, however, not all of those toppings are what you might have had in mind, at least not for the unlucky party that happened to be served by one unscrupulous Domino’s Pizza delivery man. In a viral, aerial surveillance clip, we see him pull up in a driveway and exit a delivery car, place the hot bag onto the hood, pull out the pizza box and turn toward the door.

Suddenly, the box slips through his hands and hits the concrete, alongside a smattering of loose toppings. He frantically picks the toppings up off the concrete and…places them back on top of the pizza. In seconds flat, he closes the box, puts it back inside the hot bag and turns toward the door, where the customer — unaware of the added goodies in store — pays him and takes the box. Not that it would be much more comforting, but one could only hope the driveway in question wasn’t too dirty. So what’s on your pizza tonight?

I Only Work as a Guard Because t
he Circus Isn’t Hiring Right Now

One would think any business requiring security staff would ensure that its guards are adequately trained and adept to the corridors of an assigned premises. In one viral surveillance clip from the late-noughties, however, a guard at an unidentified grocery store proves less capable of running through the checkout gate than your average five-year-old. The jumpy video shows him walking briskly through the produce section and reaching the gate, where he suddenly does a 270° body flip over the low, metal bars.

Despite the briskness of his head-down, back-landing flip, he got straight back up and proceeded with his duties, apparently unscathed. The flip could have actually been impressive…had it occurred under a big top. Perhaps he should consider a new career as a gymnast.

Let’s Put Our Masks on Right Here Where No One Will See Us

A disguise put on in front of others isn’t really a disguise. A pair of young Londoners understood this while embarking on their first robbery, but what they didn’t realize was that their faces were caught on alleyway surveillance as the two men slipped on masks before proceeding to their target. Needless to say, both suspects’ budding criminal careers were cut short — at least for the time being.

 

At Least It Will Fertilize the Soil

They say when you gotta go, you gotta go. Sometimes, however, nature calls at the worst times and places. Such was the case for a man caught on surveillance inside Winnipeg Square on one reasonably busy day in the late noughties. The middle-aged, casually attired individual is seen from across the concourse, leaning against the mirrored wall and apparently waiting for a moment’s clearance of foot traffic. Inching towards a nearby planter, he turns his back to the tree, makes a slight bend and lowers his drawers while backing rear–-own into the planter.

While nothing is seen actually exiting his body — thanks in part to the distance of the camera — the act appears to last all of ten seconds, after which he’s forced to sit tight for another ten seconds as more people pass through the area. Once the coast clears, his legs rise in tandem with his pants, but he fumbles for another 20 seconds before vacating what now must have been a stench-engulfed area. Though no arrest warrants went out for this unidentified public defecator, word has it the mall has since dispensed with planters.

Bust a Move, White Boy

Goofing around on the job is common. When you’re a tax-paid servant of the community, however, scandals can ensue if evidence of your hijinks are leaked to the public. At a convenience store in Utah, the booming sounds of Silento from over the PA inspired an impromptu two-step sequence from Officer Bryson Lystrup of the Pleasant Grove Police Department. What the shaky-hipped, wavy-handed cop didn’t realize is that his white boy moves were captured by overhead surveillance, footage of which was quickly leaked to social media. Lucky for Officer Lystrup, his colleagues seemed to agree with the public in that the viral star’s worst crime was bad dance moves. The police department issued a statement saying they intended to get the officer some help…because his timing was way off.

Those Bills Were Just Screaming for My Hands

One would think that when the urge strikes, a robber would at least be conscious of his immediate surroundings. It’s unclear what the intentions might have been of one hooded individual as he approached the counter at a drugstore to make a small purchase, but when the clerk walked away from the still-open register, he just couldn’t resist. Perhaps it was the adrenaline rush that rendered him unmindful of the security guard that had just passed behind his back, but no sooner had his hands reached the bills than there was a Glock pointed to the back of his hooded head.

Do I or Don’t I Wanna Rob This Store?

Some crimes are confusing upon playback, such as the instance where one roly-poly, gaudily-attired individual threw a rock at the sliding-glass door of a Redding, Calif., convenience store in the dead of night. If he was hoping to break into the closed store to commit a robbery, why did he split in the other direction the moment the rock bounced from the window after merely causing a crack? Surely he was confident no one was watching him, or else he wouldn’t have been so bold as to mask himself only after peeking through the window to determine the store was empty.

Of course, the surveillance camera from inside the store got a clear recording of his likeness. Given the unnamed rock-thrower’s distinct physical stature and penchant for wildly patterned clothing, one could only imagine the number of leads that the local police must have received once the story aired. If nothing else, he’s one helluva sprinter.

Slam-Dunk Deals on Aisle 9

Shopping can be a form of exercise. You push a cart from aisle to aisle, you lift and lower objects of varying weight — throw in some good target practice, and you could get a hefty workout. In one YouTube video compilation, shopping is shown to be a more efficient activity among those who’ve worked some basketball into their cart-target game. The act is simple: Leave your cart in one place, and when you find an item you want, toss it over and in.

Some people have become quite expert at the sport, as the video shows one person taking aim from the second aisle down and another tossing items with the far hand without eyeing the target. One segment shows two people in neighboring aisles where each makes perfect aim — one with her back turned — to the opposite aisle. Judging by the lumpy-legged pants of the first cart-shooter, the trend appears to date back as far as the fashion-challenged late-90s/early-00s era. Just be sure not to ricochet a can off the back of the store guardsman.

If I Keep It off the Ground Through This Whole Routine, I’ll Eat It

Turns out basketball isn’t the only sport that’s been appropriated to the ritual of shopping. In one surveillance snippet from 2007, a woman picks a lettuce head from a produce aisle and proceeds to utilize some obvious soccer skills. After balancing the iceberg on her forehead, she juggles it between her knees and passes it between her right foot, forehead, chest and back to her knees.

With cart situated afar, she knee-thumps the iceberg high into the air and head-thumps it straight into the cart. Though this fair-haired flare-wearer is virtually impossible to identify due to limitations in the footage quality, it would be a crime if she wasn’t part of a soccer team — or a circus act.

I Know a Place the Guards Can’t Inspect

We’ve heard about the places where shoplifters hide the evidence: up the sleeve, in the jacket, down the shirt, in the pants. But up the skirt? An overhead surveillance clip from 2011 reveals a young woman who manages to slip a wrapped beverage crate up her long, white, loose-fitting maxi skirt. Browsing between aisles with two friends, the footage shows her turn towards the bulk-drink section, where she kneels down before the lowest stack and slides a 24-pack between her legs and up the fabric.

Miraculously, she rises up and walks like normal as she and her friends proceed to their next destination. Say what you will about her leg-bracing skills, but store-owners everywhere now have all the more reason to hope high hemlines remain the fashion forever.

Where Can I Get Video Surveillance for My Home or Business?

When it comes to surveillance cameras and other security equipment, Titan Alarm Inc. offers products designed for today’s smart homes and buildings. Owned and operated in Phoenix, Ariz., our systems are easily installed for residents and business owners in the area without the involvement of a 1099 contractor.

With our security system, you can control your alarms, cameras, thermostats and more via simple commands on your smartphone. With our equipment, you’ll always known who’s entering or leaving your property. You could capture or deter criminal activity…or maybe you’ll catch some of your own hilarious surveillance moments. For all of your home and business security needs, contact Titan Alarm Inc.: the best video surveillance installer in Arizona.

Learn More About Commercial Video Surveillance

• Public Building Surveillance
• Reasons Why People Shoplift
• Are Security Cameras in Public Places a Good or Bad Thing?
• Self-Storage Security System and Video Surveillance

Updated by Titan Alarm on November 5, 2018.