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The real-life crime genre has a new medium, or perhaps even a completely fresh vocabulary and structure: police body cam footage. Countenances of those harmed, witnesses and possible perpetrators appear suddenly to the cameras, at times in the intense brightness of vehicle beams or flashlights as the officers approach, their expressions and tones expressing wariness or fear or indignation or suspiciously contrived innocence. And we often catch sight of the expressions of the officers themselves, one standing by blankly while the other asks the questions with what occasionally seems like remarkable hesitation – though perhaps this is because they know they are being recorded.

An Emerging Pattern in Non-Fiction Cinema

We have already had the Netflix true-crime documentary American Murder: Gabby Petito, about the slaying of an social media personality by her partner, whose main point of interest was officer recordings 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, composed entirely of officer footage. Now comes Geeta Gandbhir’s documentary about the grim case of Ajike Owens in Ocala, Florida, a woman of colour whose four young kids allegedly harassed and antagonized her white neighbour, Susan Lorincz. In 2023, after an escalating series of neighbour-dispute incidents in which the police were repeatedly called, the accused fatally shot Owens through her locked door, when Owens went to the neighbor's residence to address her about hurling items at her children.

The Investigation and State Laws

The investigating authorities found evidence that the suspect had done internet searches into the state's self-defense statutes, which permit householders and others to shoot if there is a reasonable belief of danger. The documentary builds its story with the officer recordings captured during the multiple officer calls to the scene before the killing, and then at the disturbing and disordered crime scene itself – introduced by emergency call recordings of the caller contacting authorities in a dramatically trembling voice. There is also police cell footage of Lorincz which has a disturbing, unsettling appeal.

Portrayal of the Accused

The documentary does not really suggest anything too complex about Lorincz, or any extenuating circumstance. She is clearly unstable, although the kids are heard calling her a derogatory term, an hurtful taunt. The film is showcased as an illustration of how self-defense regulations generate unnecessary and heartbreaking violence. But the fact of gun ownership and the second amendment (that longstanding U.S. legal right that a deceased pundit famously claimed made gun deaths a price worth paying) is not much highlighted.

Officer Questioning and Gun Culture

It is feasible to watch the police interrogation scenes here and feel surprised at how little interest the police took in this aspect. At what time did she purchase the firearm? Where (if anywhere) did she train in its use? Was this the first time she discharged the weapon? Where did she store it in the house? Was it just on the couch, loaded and ready? The police aren’t shown asking any of these surely relevant questions (though they could have inquired in footage that didn’t make the edit). Or is possessing a firearm so normal it would be like asking about kitchen appliances or toasters?

Arrest and Aftermath

For what appeared to her local residents a extended period, Lorincz was not even taken into custody and indicted, only held and even offered a hotel stay away from home for the night (another parallel, by the way, with the a prior incident). And when she was ultimately formally arrested in the holding cell, there is an remarkable scene in which Lorincz simply declines to rise, will not extend her arms for the handcuffs, not aggressively, but with the courteously pathetic demeanor of someone whose mental health means that she just can’t do it. Had the kid-gloves treatment up until that point led her to think that this could be effective?

Conclusion and Verdict

It didn’t; and the jury’s verdict is saved for the end titles. A very sombre picture of American crime and punishment.