i'm contessa brewer. that's all for this edition of "caught on camera." >>> oh, whoa. >> what happened? >> the biggest explosions. >> damn! >> raging infernos. >> we're going to have burn victims. >> terrifying escapes. >> that was the day i thought i was going to die. >> we have the facility surrounded. >> brave responders. >> i couldn't believe my eyes. it was actually on fire. >> exploding projectiles. >> it was just like a rocket coming down. >> massive flames. >> it was hairy. it was hairy. >> i just closed my eyes and go, oh, boy. >> enormous fireballs. >> pan back. pan back. just had a huge explosion. >> i thought, this is it. i better at least catch it on tape. >>> caught on camera:boom." welcome to "caught on camera." i'm contessa brewer. just going through our daily routines, we can be surrounded by dangerous materials and equipment and not even be aware of it. usually we have nothing to worry about because compressed gases, high-powered machines and blasting materials are safe when used and sto

i'm contessa brewer. that's it for this edition of "caught on camera >>> from the startling -- >> if i went and did that, i'd be either arrested or shot or shot, then arrested. >> -- to the silly. >> you're like, wow, that kid's got some, to get up there. >> to the sublime. >> why do they think they can get away with it? >> viral videos, short moments caught on camera that we can't stop watching and like a virus, pass along. >> first thing you do is send it to ten of your friends. >> people are flooding the internet with videos hoping they'll go viral. >> everybody is making videos now. >> oh, my god, i can put my kid on there and get a million views and then be on david letterman? >> being with a guy putting a cat down their pants. >> why do people love cats so much? >> the videos can be riveting? but can you believe everything you see? >> if that's fake i get angry with people. >> you can fake that completely. >> have you been fooled? what's real and what's not? >> this one had me fooled 110%. >> "caugh

i'm contessa brewer. that's all for this edition of "caught on camera." >>> i'm the customer. that's who in the hell i am. >> when the line is too long -- >> back up! >> when the cabin doors shut. >> please help me! >> when the store you want opened is closed, are you ever tempted to do something crazy? >> probably the most ridiculous thing i've ever seen. >> customers lash out. crowds go out of control. >> everybody was just shoving. >> shoppers snap. >> the customer just went crazy. >> but you know what they say -- >> the customer's always right! >>> "caught on camera: customers gone wild." hello, i'm contessa brewer. welcome to "caught on camera."ç do you ever feel frustrated waiting in line, or have you watched as someone else flies off the handle? from naked shoppers to angry plane passengers, in this hour, we'll watch what happens when customers go wild. ♪ a late-night shopper decides to open up a drive-through in one of the most bizarre and audacious smash-and-grabs this small ohio town has eve

i'm contessa brewer. that's it for this edition of "caught on camera." >>> terrifying accidents. >> oh, that is horrible. good lord. >> up in the thin air. and on the high seas. when danger calls, they are the ones to answer. >> we had him out in seconds. >> seeing this incredible act of instinctive heroism was just amazing. >> amazing acts of courage. >> i asked the man upstairs to help me. >> it was the obvious thing to do. it was the human thing to do. >> lives hanging in the balance. >> i thought he was just knocked unconscious. i tried. >> in times of crisis, they rely on each other. >> i trust these guys with my life. if it took one of them guys going down also, i knew they would do that. we would do that for each other. it's a brotherhood. >> "caught on camera: extreme rescues." welcome to "caught on camera." i'm contessa brewer. you're in a life-or-death situation and you can't help yourself. often survival depends not just on luck, but also on the heroic acts of another person. they might be trai

i'm contessa brewer. you're in a life-or-death situation and you can't help yourself. often survival depends not just on luck, but also on the heroic acts of another person. they might be trained rescue professionals or simply bystanders tapping into courage they never knew they had. watch what happens when a helicopter crashes into a remote pineapple field, pinning the pilot. a helicopter out of control. one man is frantically trying to save another man's life. it will take near superhuman strength, but warren ameral refuses to let his friend steve die, not here and not now. >> you know, you see your friend there. if you're not going to do nothing, you're going the lose your friend. so i asked the man upstairs to help me. >> warren, affectionately known by his friends as tiny, because of his size, needs the help especially for what he is about to attempt. steve is in a ditch, unconscious, underwater, and his legs are pinned down by the weight of the chopper. it seems impossible, but tiny will somehow hav

i'm contessa brewer. in this hour, we'll take a fascinating look at a world where a bear bites a woman, a raging bull runs wild, and a gorilla finds a toddler in her enclosure at the zoo. what happens next will take your breath away. and later, we have the inside story on one of the most spectacular wild animal videos you'll ever see. in our first video, a tourist crosses the line and gets a little too close to a giant polar bear. >> oh, my god! >> desperate screams. people running. it's complete chaos at the anchorage, alaska zoo. a woman sneaks behind the zoo barrier and is nearly eaten alive. >> get a gun! tranquilize it. i'll never forget her scream. it was definitely someone who needed help. >> a beautiful day at the zoo. families and tourists flock to see the animals to get a little closer to the wildlife they might not otherwise get to experience. >> we have about 100, 120 animals, 36 different species. we take in orphaned, rescued animals. >> one of the most popular attractions is a 1,000 pound po

i'm contessa brewer. welcome to "caught on camera." you're about to see some incredible stories of courage under fire as we explore one of the most dangerous scenarios a person can face. a close encounter with a gun. we must warn you. many of the images you're about to see are violent and disturbing. a disturbed man unleashes terror on a school board. firing on the group from point blank range. >> this is a -- >> please don't. please don't. please. >> december 14th, 2010, the bay district school board in panama city, florida, is in the middle of its regular meeting. >> we'd been talking about head lice. some of the mundane things we have to deal with. >> we were making really bad jokes like, this is nitpicky or this bugs me. i mean, we made really bad jokes. >> but the lighthearted mood is about to change. a man walks over to the wall and spray paints the letter "v" inside a circle. at first, the board members aren't quite sure what's happening. >> we were just all kind of in shock. i mean, we -- i didn't know what to think. >> but whe

i'm contessa brewer. welcome to "caught on camera." it's human nature to get angry, and sometimes emotions boil over. when they do, situations can spiral out of control. in this hour, you'll see people who lash out in frustration, despair and rage. >> oh, hell, yeah. >> it's a scene that would shock any parent. two middle school girls beating each other in front of dozens of their peers. and the whole bloody battle is caught on an iphone camera. >> we want to see more of this. >> one of the girls involved is 13-year-old sierra spencer. she has just switched middle schools in the small suburb of marysville, washington, after being bullied in her old school. at first, it feels like a good fit. >> it was perfectly fine. like i had no problems. i loved it. >> but sierra is bullied in this school, too. sierra's mother, kenice watson is frustrated the problems she thought she had fixed is continuing. >> there's three middle schools in town and they enter mingle. and so eventually the issues she was having at the other middle school started k

i'm contessa brewer. wild antics at work have gotten people fired and even put in jail. but our first two stories are about workers who are going about their regular day when extraordinary events unfold. working on a navy carrier isn't really what you might consider a wild gig, but wait until you see what happens to a petty officer just doing his job. it happens in the blink of an eye. a man gets sucked into a jet engine and disappears. >> i didn't even want to see what was going to come oust that intake. i was devastated. i was -- you know, this was my best friend. >> mike mcdonald remembers that night vividly. >> this was the guy i spent the past two years almost every single dayith. for him to be gone and not to be alive anymore was just totally shocking to me. >> mcdonald and john bridges are navy petty officers stationed on the "uss roosevelt" during "operation desert storm." bridges is a green shirt, a navy term for an aviation maintenance officer. he helps launch aircraft from the flight deck. the

i'm contessa brewer. the most ambitious fishermen are always pushing the limits, trying to reel in that big one, scouring the oceans for the most exotic and elusive sea creatures. in our next story, a young angler battles a giant black marlin. and what happens next is no fish tale. 30 miles off the coast of panama, a family fishing vacation turns into a desperate fight for life. >> oh, my god. oh, my god. >> i didn't really think it was happening. i thought it was a dream. and then when i woke up, i was on the ground, being pulled into the corner of the boat, spitting up blood. so then it became real. >> 17-year-old steven schultz, his dad, bob, and his sister allison are on a fishing trip in the deep blue tropical waters near panama. it's one last summer trip before both kids go off to school. >> my brother was leaving for college, so we were going to be going separate ways again, and i was excited. >> spirits are high. it's the threesome's first deep sea fishing adventure together, and it's a chance for

i'm contessa brewer. that's all for this edition of "caught on camera." >>> it's a force so deadly it can kill with a touch. >> i can't believe that i'm still alive. >> back up! >> so powerful it drops suspects on the spot, whether it's a bolt out of the blue -- >> feel the current travel through your body. >> an electrifying fall, or a dangerous crime. >> i wanted them down right there, what you're about to see is sure to be shocking. >> definitely something i'll never forget. >> don't do that. caught on camera, high voltage. i'm contessa brewer, welcome to caught on camera, it can happen in a flash and with devastating impact, electrical shock, when we control it electricity powers our lives, but when it's unleashed high voltage can be terrifying. february 3, 1996, a desperate man attempts a perilous high-wire act, straight into 16,000 volts of electricity. >> i thought he blew up in a million pieces because there was such a shock and a sound, it was boom! i was, whoa. east los angeles, a vibrant hub of

i'm contessa brewer. in this hour you'll see the most incredible video of collisions and meet survivors who were lucky to walk away alive. you think of crashes you might envision a racetrack or a highway. but in our first story the scene of the accident is about the last place you would expect. imagine you're sitting outside your home enjoying a quiet family barbecue when a military plane swoops in and explodes in your backyard. it's a sunday picnic one family will never forget. air shows, exciting displays of the best in flight, held all around the world. a showcase of the rare and classic. an exhibit of thrilling tricks and intricate maneuvers. but at 10,000 feet, even the smallest mishap can result in disaster. september 1997, mark mcdonald and his family are visiting relatives in essex, maryland. nearby, hundreds gather on a warm, sunny day to watch the chesapeake air show. >> i was aware of the air show, and they did have quite a few planes that came in and made some very low fly-bys as they were mak

i'm contessa brewer. bad behavior can sometimes seem like an epidemic, from road rage to bullying over the internet to fist fights on reality tv. our first video is a prime example of bad behavior. a mob erupts in violence, and not out of anger or frustration, but to celebrate the home team's victory. [ chanting ] >> mayhem in the streets of los angeles. june 2010. 19-year-old student and part-time graphic designer jun gatuna ducks into a downtown bar to watch the last moments of the nba finals. the los angeles lakers versus the boston celtics. >> i just wanted to see what was going on, see if the lakers won or not. and if they did win, i just wanted to see how the victory celebration went. >> the final score, lakers 83, celtics 79. in game seven, the lakers ç clinched the title, and gatuna heads toward the arena. >> the atmosphere was very energetic. a lot of people were shouting celtics suck, lakers won, lakers won. i headed to staples center because i heard from a lot of friends that that's where a l

i'm contessa brewer. that's all for this edition of "caught on camera." >>> a man trapped in a burning car. >> i didn't know if the engine itself was going to explode. >> crashing to earth in a helicopter. >> i thought he perished, he died. >> clinging for life to a tiny tree. >> all of us were shocked to see just how many people were in peril. >> flipped upside down on the runway. >> i was terrified there was going do be fuel out there and fire. >> sent flying by a truck. >> it knocked me out of the street into the curb. >> thrown from a moped. >> i just hit the ground before i knew it. >> plummeting down a rocky canyon. >> i thought that i was going to die, for sure. >> but a miracle or a lifeline, or a good samaritan appears. >> i just yelled out help me, help me out. >> and they make it out alive. >>> "caught on camera, cheating death." hello. i'm contessa brewer. welcome to "caught on camera." we all fear it, that one deadly moment of inattention, the simple but potentially fatal miscalculation, the

i'm contessa brewer. that's all for this edition of "caught on camera." >>> fast-paced action. daring rescues. life and death struggles. >> oh, my god. >> they were just like holding on for their life. it was so scary. >> sweet water oak loses the rider. >> through mud, water -- >> don't let go of the boat! >> and wind. >> i remember just seeing him slam straight into the ground. i thought he was dead. >> dragged by a speeding train. knocked down on the side of the road. pushed to the brink. >> he told me he was going to kill me. i said, no, i'm here to kill you. >> rides so shocking, you wouldn't believe they were real if they weren't caught on camera. >> probably only maybe a minute where the first person was like, did you get all that on film? >>> "caught on camera: wild rides." hello, i'm contessa brewer. welcome to "caught on camera." fasten your seat belts. in this hour we'll be going on wild rides with men and women who never expected to find themselves in such dire situations, facing some daunting

i'm contessa brewer. that's all for this edition of "caught on camera. >>> a man knocked unconscious while witnesses walk by. >> if i'm laying on the ground, i expect that first person to call 911 right away. >> but what will they do? >>> a cop getting a mouthful from that great grandma. >> give me the [ bleep ]'ing thing. >> stand back or you're going to be tazed. >> you're going to tase a 72-year-old woman. >> but what will he do? >>> an nfl player and his wife desperately trying to make it to the hospital detain by an unsympathetic cop. >> you ran a red light. >> my mother is dying! right now! >> i turned around he has a gun pointed at me. >> what will she do? >>> people, fashioned with tough decisions. >> that's a woman. i had to make a decision what i'm going to do now. >> and moral dilemmas with life-or-death consequences. >> i said to my girlfriend, if he does jump, i'm going in, but i don't think i really believed that i would actually -- it would come down to that. >> scenarios that force you to

i'm contessa brewer. wild antics at work have gotten people fired and even put in jail. but our first two stories are about workers who are going about their regular day when extraordinary events unfold. working on a navy carrier isn't really what you might consider a wild gig, but wait until you see what happens to a petty officer just doing his job. it happens in the blink of an eye. a man gets sucked into a jet engine and disappears. >> i didn't even want to see what was going to come oust that intake. i was devastated. i was -- you know, this was my best friend. >> mike mcdonald remembers that night vividly. >> this was the guy i spent the past two years almost every single day with. for him to be gone and not to be alive anymore was just totally shocking to me. >> mcdonald and john bridges are navy petty officers stationed on the "uss roosevelt" during "operation desert storm." bridges is a green shirt, a navy term for an aviation maintenance officer. he helps launch aircraft from the flight deck. th

i'm contessa brewer. every day we go about our daily routines never thinking that at any moment we could suddenly find ourselves in harm's way. not much feels as ordinary as a trip to the convenience store, sightseeing in the park, or even filling up yotb gas tank. but as one ohio man discovered, trouble could be lurking just around the corner. a carpenter filling up his gas tank suddenly finds himself pinned to the ground, surrounded by flames. >> it was the lunch hour so i'm more so on the cashier's desk then, and that time is pretty busy. >> laura works at the sunmart gas station in menson township, ohio, and loves her job. >> we're smiling at 6:00 a.m. and smiling at 9:00 p.m. when it's time to close down. so we have a lot of regular customers. >> one of those regular customers is jim, a building maintenance supervisor. >> i come to this gas station every day for lunch during the workweek. >> october 9, 2009, is as routine as any other day. laura behind the counter. jim enjoying his lunch. >> it was t

i'm contessa brewer. welcome to "caught on camera." dangerous materials are used every day, usually without incident, because safeguards are in place to minimize risks. but natural disasters and man-made accidents happen all too frequently, and when highly flammable materials are involved, an emergency situation can become a fireball. may 15th, 2009. firefighters in texas are battling a blaze at a tank facility that stores oil, gas and sea water. just when they think they have the fire under control, a flare erupts from the tank on the right. it's not a good sign. and in a matter of seconds, the tank launches into the air like a rocket. >> everything went bright. the heat was real intense. >> a ball of fire races toward firefighters who are forced to run for their lives. >> you just think this could be the day for all of us. it was a violent, violent explosion. >> seconds later, another tank explodes. >> when the second tank exploded, and that's when the debris was flying everywhere and about a ten-foot p

i'm contessa brewer. when you buy a ticket to a sports event or a comedy show, you expect a couple hours of entertainment, a chance to sit back, relax and enjoy. but the spectators you'll meet in this hour got much more than they bargained for. they thought they were watching for their own amusement. instead, they were watching at their own risk. >> everybody look out! >> fans run in fear as monster waves take down everything and everyone. >> damn it, look at these people! >> there was no control. you didn't know which way was up and you didn't know what was going to happen next. >> it's february 13th, 2010 and it's the maverick surf competition known as the super bowl of big wave surfing, for good reason. >> the condor looking solid. >> the competition is held only when conditions are just right, to create the most incredible waves on earth. some as high as 50 feet. and only the best surfers are allowed to ride these giants. >> the mavericks event itself attracts 24 of the biggest names in big wave surfi

." >>> hello, i'm contessa brewer. welcome to "caught on camera." a crash can happen just about anywhere. sometimes the impact is no more than a minor inconvenience. other times it is a life-changing or even a life-ending event. while crashes are often accidents, in our first video you'll see a one-man wrecking effort that is anything but accidental. june 4th, 2004, an irate man in a bulldozer wreaks havoc on the small town of gramby, colorado. >> the vehicle was going in and out of this, basically, a big concrete warehouse, that was made out of prefab concrete. and what he would do is fall forward until the wall would collapse on top of him an then he would pull backwards and he was just going from one end of the building to the other doing that causing the building to collapse on itself. >> glen trainor is the former undersheriff of grand county, colorado. when the call first comes in that a bulldozer is on the loose, he isn't overly concerned. but that changes after a report of shots being fired. it turns out, this is no ordinary bulldozer. >> wh

i'm contessa brewer. they are everywhere -- on websites like youtube, embedded in blogs, even in your e-mail. and chances are you've watched them and maybe even forwarded on one or two along to someone else. the videos you're about to see were all popular. some are funny. some are poignant. all amazing clips. but they may have left you wondering, are they real or are they fake? ♪ wait, did someone just spray paint graffiti on air force one? >> in this video, a couple of guys essentially climb a fence, elude the secret service, run up to air force one and put a graffiti tag on air force one while this is all being videotaped. >> you're like, wait a minute, are they going to do something to air force one? you're like, what is going on here? this is crazy. >> did someone really break into andrews air force base and spray paint or tag the president's plane? >> i think people really want to believe it's true. >> the video hit the internet in 2006 and quickly became a sensation. >> the first reaction is alway

i'm contessa brewer. these days, it seems like everyone has a video camera and is eager to share their private moments online. but the video you're about to watch was never meant to be shared. it's a video that wound up as evidence only by chance. and it's a good thing. the scene it recorded is disturbing and illegal. >> you want do smoke? >> no! >> i just couldn't believe somebody could do that. >> it was pretty shocking. i've seen a lot of things but that was a first for me. i couldn't believe that this would happen, especially here in pataskala. >> it's a small city in ohio about 20 miles east of columbus. the population, less than 15,000, but it suffers from an unusually high crime rate. >> you know, we get this small town feel, but we have big-town problems here. >> here. >> but even the most jaded residents here can't believe their eyes in april of 2008 when this shocking video surfaces. it shows two teens forcing a toddler to smoke marijuana. >> people were outraged about the video. they just -- no

i'm contessa brewer. a police officer's working day may include violent confrontation, touching human dramas and even comic relief. for an officer in a patrol car, the dashboard camera is the silent witness capturing the action and preserving some hair-raising stories. our first video begins in new mexico with an amazing high-speed chase and a shootout caught on multiple dash cams. with their -- cams rolling police cruisers chase after a 22-year-old man through highways and country roads in northern new mexico. the pursuit is not only dangerous, it's violent. >> shots fired. >> shots fired. >> i heard an officer was injured. he had blood coming from his face. >> in may, 2007, jackie bud in aztec, new mexico, is the first backup to respond to ans he can't begins in a nearby town. that's where lionel gets into a confrontation near a laundromat and local police are called. >> he and his party were trying to leave in a vehicle. a bloomfield officer approached him head-on in an attempt to stop him to find out

i'm contessa brewer. welcome to "caught on camera." a day at the beach, a night out to see your favorite band, a hike in a beautiful state park. sometimes even the most enjoyable activities can suddenly take a turn for the worse. and when they do, who will come to the rescue? for one utah motorcyclist trapped beneath a burning car, the answer is not necessarily who you'd expect. a motorcyclist is trapped underneath a burning car as bystanders rush to try and save him. >> oh, my gosh! >> i did see the flame, and i did think that the car had potential to blow up. >> logan, utah, is a quiet college town home to utah state university. but right outside campus on september 12th, 2011, a car and a motorcycle collide, and the bike bursts into flames. the unfolding scene is captured from the ninth floor of a nearby building by university videographer, chris garth. >> i was setting up for a lecture. i noticed some smoke out the window. that's when i started videotaping. >> flames that engulfed the motorcycle are s

i'm contessa brewer. if a ship is sinking, the maritime rule is the captain goes down with the ship. but in our next story, the captain of the oceanos cruise liner decides he has other plans and it's left to a group of untrained, unqualified entertainers to pull off a dangerous rescue. off the coast of south africa, the 12-ton oceanos cruise liner pitches and rolls wildly in a storm. 571 people are aboard the cruise ship, and the situation is even worse than the terrified passengers realize. their captain is missing, and their fate is now in the hands of a bunch of inexperienced staff members desperately radioing for help. >> we were asked how long have we got left to float, what's your position. >> can you give a free channel? over. >> we'll tell you one. >> he would say, what rank are you? i was saying, well, i'm not actually a rank. i'm a guitarist. my job is to rock and roll, not to rescue. >> moss hill is on the ship's entertainment staff. he stumbles into leading a desperate rescue effort when it's

hello, i'm contessa brewer. welcome to "caught on camera." one of the most embarrassing moments ever at the worst possible time in the worst possible place, on the job. in this story you'll see professionals doing what they do best until they trip up or slip up and then go with the old saying, laugh at yourself and the world will laugh with you. >> this is fashion week over in paris. there was a problem out there today. a model fell down twice. >> it looked so funny. like, i'm still laughing when i see this video. how is that possible to fall like that? >> you're just tickled over that. >> it was clear i don't have this anymore. i hope they go to commercial now because i'm about to lose my job. >> oh, no! >> wait a minute. let's start over from the beginning. kamila is a supermodel living in poland. jim vance is a veteran newscaster from washington, d.c. they may live worlds apart, but jim and kamila will forever be linked to each other and it's all because of a pair of ridiculously high heels, a watering can, and one very embarrassing video

i'm contessa brewer. welcome to "caught on camera." surveillance cameras are everywhere. in this hour, we'll show you criminals they've captured in the act. some of what you see may leave you stunned, like the tough grandmother you're about to meet who fends off a violent attacker in a hotel lobby. this hotel clerk knew working the night shift might mean dealing with some strange characters. >> i had an elderly gentleman try to convince me the invisible mafia was after him. >> but she wasn't prepared to wrestle thieves with machete-sized knives. a harrowing experience caught on camera. kent washington, tamarine jones is working the night shift at the days inn, one of the shuttle drivers drops off a purse that a guest has left in his van. >> i went to look up her room number, not more than 30 seconds later, i heard someone say, excuse me, can you tell me where a certain room is? i told him, it's on the second floor all the way down. then i went back to the phone, looked back down at the phone, dialed the room number and he was standing on the other side of the counter and

i'm contessa brewer. athletes and thrill seekers don't just put their own skills to the test, they challenge the laws of nature, too. in the next story a kite boarder stakes his life on the fickle wind and it lets him down hard. a pro kite boarder soars into the air and slams into solid steel. >> oh! >> i just saw my life flash in front of me. i started kite boarding 11 years ago when it first started. >> dimitri lives to fly. for wings he uses a kite in a relatively new sport called kite boarding. >> the appeal about this sport is the freedom. it's just like jumping and pure power house, but you are using nature to do that. >> the greek-born dimitri also flies to live. he's a pro and owner of a company that manufacturers and sells kite boards. >> i was very lucky to get into kite boarding, for myself and got sponsored by two different companies and eventually started my own kite company. >> kite boarding combines the appeal of boarding, riding the waves, with the pleasures of flying through the air on th

i'm contessa brewer. every day we go about our daily routines never thinking that at any moment we could suddenly find ourselves in harm's way. not much feels as ordinary as a trip to the convenience store, sightseeing in the park, or even filling up your gas tank. but as one ohio man discovered, trouble could be lurking just around the corner. a carpenter filling up his gas tank suddenly finds himself pinned to the ground, surrounded by flames. >> it was the lunch hour so i'm more so on the cashier's desk then, and that time is pretty busy. >> laura works at the sunmart gas station in menson township, ohio, and loves her job. >> we're smiling at 6:00 a.m. and smiling at 9:00 p.m. when it's time to close down. so we have a lot of regular customers. >> one of those regular customers is jim, a building maintenance supervisor. >> i come to this gas station every day for lunch during the workweek. >> october 9, 2009, is as routine as any other day. laura behind the counter. jim enjoying his lunch. >> it was t

i'm contessa brewer. if a ship is sinking, the maritime rule is the captain goes down with the ship. but in our next story, the captain of the oceanos cruise liner decides he has other plans and it's left to a group of untrained, unqualified entertainers to pull off a dangerous rescue. off the coast of south africa, the 12-ton oceanos cruise liner pitches and rolls wildly in a storm. 571 people are aboard the cruise ship, and the situation is even worse than the terrified passengers realize. their captain is missing, and their fate is now in the hands of a bunch of inexperienced staff members desperately ç radioing for help. >> we were asked how long have we got left to float, what's your position. >> can you give a free channel? over. >> we'll tell you one. >> he would say, what rank are you? i was saying, well, i'm not actually a rank. i'm a guitarist. my job is to rock and roll, not to rescue. >> moss hill is on the ship's entertainment staff. he stumbles into leading a desperate rescue effort when i

i'm contessa brewer. that's all for this edition of "caught on camera. >>> this man -- >> hope you're not married. >> -- wants the prostitutes in his neighborhood gone. >> if i catch you, you get a life sentence. >> he -- >> you ought to be ashamed of yourself! >> -- wants government officials to play by the same rules as everybody else. >> they're afraid of me. >> you're not allowed to do that, and they're afraid of my video camera. >>> and she -- >> i probably cried more than i have in my life. >> -- summoned the strength to protect her father. what all three of these people capture on camera is shocking. >> something just hit me like a ton of bricks. >> in plain sight. >> you're going to jail, buddy. >> and in their homes. >> get out of my face, man! >> using video cameras. >> get off my camera. >> to fight for justice for safer streets. >> do you want to go to jail? >> and for their loved ones. >> the camera saved my dad's life. >> "caught on camera: video vigilantes." have you ever seen something tha

i'm contessa brewer. even an ordinary day for police on patrol can turn into a life or death situation. with dash cams rolling, officers can relive their most frightening moments. on a stretch of road, a police officer saves a young man's life while putting his own in jeopardy. it's a cold day in february 2010. lieutenant john lambert responds to a call near cleveland, ohio, where a teenager's car has hit a barrier after he lost control in the snow. >> hello, there. >> lambert, a 22-year veteran of the force, is keeping a watchful eye for oncoming cars. while the teenager is getting his driver's license, lieutenant lambert appears to glance nervously down the road. a few seconds later, disaster strikes. an out-of-control vehicle crashes into lambert and the teen, all caught on the lieutenant's dashboard camera. unbelievably, lambert is able to push the teenager out of harm's way. >> i was positive i was dead. you see a car flying at you going 40 miles per hour, you think you're done. >> the teen walks awa

i'm contessa brewer. what do you have in an extreme athlete? they take risks and push boundaries, breaking records, breaking the rules and breaking a few bones along the way. and danger, it is all part of the game. remember how your mother would say, if everyone jumped off a bridge, would you? well, daryl freeman may have said yes, but only if he could do it on a skateboard. in our first danger zone video, he does exactly that. >> i've done a lot of stupid things, but i guess that's the first one that i actually caught on camera with a lot of different angles. i would consider myself an adrenaline junkie. i think i'm addicted to it. if i'm supposed to work, i want to go skate. it pretty much consumes my thoughts at all times. >> daryl's specialty is downhill skating which takes a special skill set. >> you have to not be afraid of blood, pain, you have to want to go faster. i think there's a lot of friends that i used to skate with and they would get hurt a few times and that was enough for them. i guess if you enjoy the pain and the challenge o

i'm contessa brewer. an estimated 40 million people suffer from phobias and one of them is claustrophobia. in this hour we'll bring you the stories of people trapped in some of the scariest most confined spaces possible. an airtight safe, a sinking car and an elevator. the fear of death in these situations is all too real so it is up to the rescuers putting their own lives on the line to help those in danger get out alive. it is 9:30 a.m. in thailand. a fire rages in the kitchen on the first floor of the royal hotel and quickly spreads. with 16 floors above, american rochelle stimey knows nothing about the blazing inferno below. no alarm, no phone call, no notice at all. her husband is in china away on business and she's in her hotel room with her 7-year-old daughter sona when something catches sona's eye outside their window. >> i noticed some smoke. then i noticed it was coming from straight down below the window. and then i heard people screaming. >> rochelle panicked, rushes to the door, only to disco

i'm contessa brewer, thanks for watching. >>> there are 2 million people behind bars in america. we open the gates. "lockup." >>> this is a new institution. inmates are trying to establish their own territory. a lot of inmate-on-inmate assaults. >> you're surrounded by 1,000 killers. every one of them is a stranger. >> watch out for this guy on the yard. something's going to happen, it's going to happen soon. >> obviously this has been tampered with. the inmates have re-stitched it back up. >> why won't you take a cellmate? >> i feel threatened to be placed in a cell with another inmate. i feel my life is in danger. >> the inmate has been secured in the family visiting area. he'll have this time with his wife, and he'll return back to a facility. >> you nervous? >> mm-hmm. >> i'm not in here for no rape, no child molesting. >> if i stay over here, before the day is out, i could never go back to the main line. because my reputation be worn. i'm now considered a no-good. >> california houses the largest inmate population in the country. more than 170,000 prisoners. kern valley stat

i'm contessa brewer >>> he's a very dangerous person, and he needs to remain detained. >> that's some [ bleep ] man. i swear to god, man. >> i am telling you that that is the option. >> i'm telling you if i go back to that school i'm definitely going to violate my probation. >> what is that supposed to mean? >> he reaches over the seat and pulls out a gun and had it aimed at my chest. it hit me in the arm. >> if two years in placement didn't help you change your ways, i'm not so certain that anymore time here is going to do anything for you. so today what i'm going to do is -- >> i've got a lot of years to live. if i keep messing around with this i'm going to end up dead or in jail. >> i want to go home. i want to go home. i can't do it. i can't do it. i can't do it. i can't do it. >> you made a wrong decision. okay? but it's not the end of the world. you'll get over this, you know? you're not supposed to like it here. this isn't the hilton. unfortunately, what he wants is just to be with mom, you know, what every kid wants. and it has him very upset. >> who are the brothers? you two

i'm contessa brewer. anyone who watches the news knows iraq is a dangerous place. bombings and firefights are daily threats to u.s. troops and iraqi civilians. it's no surprise, then, that some of the most dramatic video we have comes from that war-torn country. hershey bypass, iraq, september 9th, 2007. a group of soldiers from the 144th military police company, a michigan army national guard unit, are traveling from tikrit to mosul. as they often do throughout their deployment, they videotape the journey. specialist ron dickinson is driving the armored humvee. it's a trip he'll never forget. >> nobody would believe us if we didn't have it on tape. >> three other members of his unit are inside the vehicle, including sergeant jason daw. >> if you slack off and don't pay attention, that's when they get you. >> they've been in the country for several months and seen their fair share of improvised explosive devices, or ieds. >> ieds are the number one threat as far as i'm concerned because you don't know where they're going to be, what they look like or when they're g

i'm contessa brewer. that's all for this edition of "caught on camera." >>> a sadistic murderer transforms the jail. >> he was sodomized, peed on, spit on, boiling water poured on him. he was tortured. >>> a roller derby queen takes a hard fall. >> i have kids, and i need to be with them, you know? this ain't cool no more. >>> and one inmate realizes that even a good day in jail can have a dark side. >> some of these guys are looking upwards of 10, 15 years each, you. knowing that i'm getting out in two days doesn't make me the most popular guy. >> this is our jail, and we're going to clean house. >>> unlike prison, where all inmates have been convicted of a crime, the majority of the jail inmates stand accused of criminal acts and are either on or awaiting trial. >> handcuffs are going to come off next, but leave your hands behind your back. >> but the threat of violence is just as real in jail as it is in prison. >> around here at theo lacy, we'll get a couple of these maybe in a -- in a month. >> day-t

i'm contessa brewer. the story took the country by storm. an unsuspecting teen lured to a house of horror while two teenage boys stand as lookouts. the girl is badly beaten. but if that isn't terrifying enough, the attackers videotaped the assault, hoping to post it on the internet for their 15 minutes of fame. well, they got fame all right, and some may even get a jail sentence to go with it. this is what the world saw, 16-year-old victoria lindsey, or tori, as her friends called her, being punched, kicked and cursed at in the home of her friend, mercedes nichols. >> ooh, yeah, baby. ooh, yeah. >> the beating is an ambush. tori had spent a week at nichols' place in lakeland, florida, because she allegedly is having problems at home. so why would mercedes and five other girls turn so viciously on tori? polk county sheriff grady judd. >> this all erupted as a result of our victim supposedly trash talking these other girls on her myspace account and through text messages. >> you can hear one of the girls talking about the myspace messages. >>

i'm contessa brewer. >>> msnbc takes you behind the walls of america's most notorious prisons into a world of chaos and danger. now, the scenes you've never seen. "lockup: raw." >> shot the man three times, right? >> and we beat him to death. >> i hold him in a choke hold. >> i shot him. >> i took the towel and strangled him. they opened the door and i tried to throw him off the tier. >> murder is a respected crime in here by a lot of these inmates. >> kill or be killed. >> human beings are the most dangerous animal on earth there is. >> he ran upstairs, i fired. >> [ bleep ] happens. >> one of the most intense things our "lockup" field crew encounters when they go inside a maximum security prison is conducting interviews with murderers, sitting five, six feet away from a very violent offender. but more often than not, they leave those conversations feeling like they just talked to somebody who's a normal, everyday guy. >> when our crew went behind the 40-foot walls of indiana state prison, they had ample opportunity to meet killers among the 2,000 inmates that are incarcerated there

i'm contessa brewer. combine an adrendline junky with a sports enthusiasenthusiast. what do you have? an extreme athlete. they take risks and push boundaries, breaking records, breaking the rules and breaking a few bones along the way. and danger, it is all part of the game. remember how your mother would say, if everyone jumped off a bridge, would you? well, daryl freeman may have said yes, but only if he could do it on a skateboard. in our first danger zone video, he does exactly that. >> i've done a lot of stupid things, but i guess that's the first one that i actually caught on camera with a lot of different angles. i would consider myself an adrenaline junkie. i think i'm addicted to it. if i'm supposed to work, i want to go skate. it pretty much consumes my thoughts at all times. >> daryl's specialty is downhill skating which takes a special skill set. >> you have to not be afraid of blood, pain, you have to want to go faster. i think there's a lot of friends that i used to skate with and they would get hurt a few times and that was enough for them. i guess if

i'm contessa brewer. an estimated 40 million people suffer from phobias and one of them is claustrophobia. in this hour we'll bring you the stories of people trapped in some of the scariest most confined spaces possible. an airtight safe, a sinking car and an elevator. the fear of death in these situations is all too real so it is up to the rescuers putting their own lives on the line to help those in danger get out alive. it is 9:30 a.m. in thailand.

i'm contessa brewer. what do you have in an extreme athlete? they take risks and push boundaries, breaking records, breaking the rules and breaking a few bones along the way. and danger, it is all part of the game. remember how your mother would say, if everyone jumped off a bridge, would you?

i'm contessa brewer. every day we go about our daily routines never thinking that at any moment we could suddenly find ourselves in harm's way. not much feels as ordinary as a trip to the convenience store, sightseeing in the park, or even filling up yotb gas tank. but as one ohio man discovered,

i'm contessa brewer. they are everywhere -- on websites like youtube, embedded in blogs, even in your e-mail. and chances are you've watched them and maybe even forwarded on one or two along to someone else. the videos you're about to see were all popular. some are funny. some are poignant. all amazing clips. but they may have left you wondering, are they real or are they fake? ♪

i'm contessa brewer. that's all for this edition of "caught on camera."3g÷ captions paid for by nbc-universal television >>> this morning, a special hour. america's health care debate. the court has spoken, vindication for the president, and a boost for his signature achievement. >> whatever the policy, today's decision was a victory for people all over this country. >> but the ruling also galvanizing his gop opponent as the court calls the individual mandate a new tax. >> if we want to get rid of obama care, we're going to have to replace president obama. >> but here's the question -- is repeal realistic? i'll ask the house's top democrat, nancy pelosi, in an exclusive interview. then, what does the law mean to you? the debate over the value now and in the future. with us, fore chair of the democratic party, dr. heoward dean, and the republican governor of louisiana, mentioned as a romney running mate, bobby jindal. dean and jindal square off. finally, we'll get to the politics. our roundtable weighs in

. >> hi, i'm contessa brewer. a police officer's working day may include violent confrontation, touching human dramas and even comic relief. for an officer in a patrol car, the dashboard camera is the silent witness capturing the action and preserving some hair-raising stories.