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The true crime category has a new medium, or perhaps even a whole new language and grammar: officer-worn camera recordings. Countenances of those harmed, observers and possible perpetrators loom up to the cameras, at times in the intense brightness of vehicle beams or torches as the officers approach, their faces and voices eloquent of caution or fear or indignation or suspiciously contrived innocence. And we often catch sight of the faces of the law enforcement personnel, one standing by blankly while the other conducts the inquiry with what sometimes seems like extraordinary diffidence – though perhaps this is because they know they are being recorded.

A Growing Trend in Non-Fiction Cinema

We have previously seen the streaming service real-life crime film The Gabby Petito Case, about the slaying of an Instagram influencer by her boyfriend, whose primary focus was body cam footage and in which, as in this film, the law enforcement seemed surprisingly lenient with the perpetrator. There is also the acclaimed short film Incident by Bill Morrison, made exclusively of officer footage. Now comes a new film by Geeta Gandbhir about the grim case of Ajike Owens in Ocala, Florida, a African American woman whose four young kids reportedly bothered and tormented her white neighbour, Susan Lorincz. In 2023, after an escalating series of neighbour-dispute incidents in which the police were repeatedly called, Lorincz shot Owens dead through her closed front door, when Owens went to Lorincz’s house to address her about throwing objects at her children.

The Investigation and Legal Context

The investigating authorities found evidence that Lorincz had done internet searches into Florida’s “stand your ground” laws, which allow residents and others to use firearms if there is a significant presumption of threat. The movie constructs its narrative with the officer recordings captured during the repeated police visits to the scene before the killing, and then at the disturbing and disordered crime scene itself – prefaced by 911 audio material of the caller calling the police in a melodramatically shaky voice. There is also jail video of Lorincz which has a disturbing, unsettling appeal.

Portrayal of the Accused

The documentary does not really imply anything too complicated about the neighbor, or any mitigating factors. She is obviously disturbed, although the kids are heard calling her a derogatory term, an hurtful taunt. The production is showcased as an example of how “stand your ground” laws lead to unnecessary and heartbreaking violence. But the reality of gun ownership and the second amendment (that longstanding U.S. legal right that a deceased pundit notoriously said made gun deaths a price worth paying) is not much highlighted.

Police Interrogation and Firearm Norms

It is possible to watch the officer questioning segments here and feel surprised at how minimal concern the officers took in this point. When did she buy her gun? Did she receive any instruction on handling it? Had she ever had occasion to fire it before? How was the gun kept in her home? Was it just on the couch, loaded and ready? The police aren’t shown asking any of these undoubtedly important questions (though they could have inquired in footage that didn’t make the edit). Or is gun ownership so commonplace it would be like asking about microwaves or toasters?

Arrest and Aftermath

For what appeared to her neighbors a very long time, the suspect was not even taken into custody and indicted, only detained and even provided accommodation away from home for the night (another parallel, by the way, with the Gabby Petito case). And when she was ultimately formally arrested in the detention area, there is an remarkable scene in which the individual simply refuses to stand, will not extend her arms for the handcuffs, not aggressively, but with the courteously pathetic demeanor of someone whose mental health means that she is unable to comply. Had the kid-gloves treatment up until that point led her to think that this could be effective?

Final Outcome and Judgment

It was not successful; and the panel's decision is revealed in the end titles. A deeply sobering portrayal of American crime and punishment.