Thanks for the ride, 2020. We’d give you zero stars, if we could.
But you sure did generate some wild video. In fact, here are the 10 most-viewed video clips from CWB’s social media posts and news reports. In any other year, we’d say they “went viral,” but not in 2020.
#10 Magnificent Mile looters
One of CWB’s less-intelligent contributors heard some Michigan Avenue stores were being burglarized early on August 10. So, of course, he ordered an Uber, went to the Mag Mile, walked past a bunch of cops who were wearing helmets, and held his $1,000 camera in his hand as thousands of people looted stores and threw bricks, planters, and street signs.
Adding insult to injury, after all of that, this video only made it to #10 on our most-viewed list.
#9 Livestreaming looters
Two days after August’s looting subsided, Chicago police released an edited video of a social media stream that one man uploaded as he and some buddies tried to force their way into a River North ATM during the looting spree. It didn’t take long for someone to rat out 20-year-old Arron Neal.
But CWB found the original, unedited version of the video — the one that shows viewers warning the looters not to livestream a felony. Our 9th most-viewed video of the year is a rare example of a time when it’s OK to read online comments.
#8 Columbus statue uprising
At least 18 cops were injured and 12 people arrested when a protest march turned violent and people tried to topple the Christoper Columbus statue in Grant Park on July 17.
Three days later, CPD released video to show how the situation turned violent. Among the video clips included in the department’s montage is footage recorded by journalist Dominic Gwinn that shows cops — and Gwinn — enduring a torrent of projectiles, including rock-solid frozen water bottles and fireworks.
#7 Divvy carjacking
Toward the end of July, a group of at least 15 Divvy bike riders surrounded and carjacked an 82-year-old man in Streeterville. And the entire incident was captured on a CPD surveillance camera.
The footage from that camera, provided to CWB by a source, has been seen millions of times around the world.
#6 Grubhub hit-and-run
On May 15, a Grubhub delivery driver got into an argument with a Boystown restaurant worker. One thing led to another until the driver decided to speed from the scene — and ran over the restaurant worker as he went. The whole thing was recorded on a bystander’s phone.
Aamir Mohammmed, a 30-year-old who was allegedly delivering for Grubhub under someone else’s account, turned himself in to police a few days later. His case is pending.
#5 Attack of 85-year-old woman
In late August, security cameras captured footage of a man mugging an 85-year-old woman as she tried to walk into the rear entrance of her Mag Mile condo building.
CWB distributed video of the attack the same day and police arrested 45-year-old Tony Davis in connection with the robbery days later. Davis, charged with robbery and aggravated battery, is still being held without bail.
#4 Trump time
When a man dangles from the side of Trump Tower and threatens to cut the rope if he can’t speak with the president, that gets attention. When the man livestreams himself twisting in the wind, well, that’s a heckuva video.
It took police negotiators 13 hours to convince the man to return to safety. Later that week, after police announced that no charges would be filed, the man escaped from a private ambulance that was transporting him through the Loop. Witnesses told cops he said he had a mission to complete. He didn’t get a chance. Police found him a few hours later in a Lincoln Square coffee shop.
#3 Officer struck by car
In September, a Chicago police officer was run over by a possibly intoxicated driver as she worked in the 2100 block of North Central Park. The officer was transported to a hospital in fair condition with multiple injuries to her lower extremities. And the terrifying footage from a nearby city camera, provided to CWB by a source, is now the centerpiece of a state OSHA investigation.
#2 Horrifying knife attack
On October 1, Chicago’s police oversight agency released video of a man being shot by police after he overcame the effects of a Tazer and then attacked a CPD sergeant with a knife. Cops were approaching the man to talk to him about another stabbing that happened nearby. The man died. The sergeant survived.
#1 Jeep gone wild
On October 7, Dawn Moore was determined to create “as much mayhem and damage as she could” when she chased down Chicago cops and slammed into CPD vehicles on the Far South Side, according to prosecutors.
Her alleged efforts were captured on video that quickly drew more views than any other clip we shared this year.