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The true crime category has a new medium, or perhaps even a whole new language and grammar: police body cam footage. Faces of victims, witnesses and possible perpetrators appear suddenly to the cameras, at times in the harsh glare of headlights or torches as the officers approach, their faces and voices eloquent of wariness or panic or indignation or dubiously feigned naivety. And we often incidentally glimpse the expressions of the officers themselves, one waiting impassively while the other conducts the inquiry with what sometimes seems like extraordinary diffidence – though maybe this is because they know they are being recorded.

An Emerging Pattern in Non-Fiction Cinema

We have previously seen the Netflix real-life crime film The Gabby Petito Case, about the killing of an Instagram influencer by her partner, whose primary focus was body cam footage and in which, as in this film, the police seemed surprisingly lenient with the suspect. There is also the acclaimed short film Incident by Bill Morrison, made exclusively of body cam film. Now comes a new film by Geeta Gandbhir about the tragic incident of Ajike Owens in Ocala, Florida, a woman of colour whose four young kids reportedly bothered and tormented her neighbor, Susan Lorincz. In 2023, after an increasing number of neighborhood conflicts in which the authorities were repeatedly called, Lorincz fatally shot Owens through her locked door, when the victim went to the neighbor's residence to address her about hurling items at her children.

The Police Inquiry and State Laws

The investigating authorities found evidence that the suspect had done internet searches into Florida’s “stand your ground” laws, which permit householders and others to use firearms if there is a significant presumption of threat. The movie builds its story with the officer recordings captured during the repeated police visits to the scene before the killing, and then at the horrific and chaotic crime scene itself – introduced by 911 audio material of Lorincz contacting authorities in a melodramatically shaky voice. There is also police cell footage of Lorincz which has a chilly, queasy fascination.

Portrayal of the Accused

The film does not really imply anything too complex about the neighbor, or any mitigating factors. She is clearly unstable, although the children are heard calling her “the Karen”, an ugly jibe. The film is showcased as an example of how “stand your ground” laws lead to senseless and tragic bloodshed. But the reality of gun ownership and the constitutional right (that longstanding U.S. legal right that a late commentator notoriously said made firearm fatalities a price worth paying) is not much highlighted.

Officer Questioning and Firearm Norms

It is feasible to watch the officer questioning segments here and feel astonished at how little interest the officers took in this point. At what time did she purchase the firearm? 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? Could it have been easily accessible and prepared? The police aren’t shown asking any of these undoubtedly important questions (though they could have inquired in recordings that didn’t make the edit). Or is possessing a firearm so normal it would be like asking about kitchen appliances or toasters?

Detention and Consequences

For what seemed 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 finally formally arrested in the detention area, there is an remarkable scene in which the individual simply declines to rise, refuses to put her wrists out for the handcuffs, not aggressively, but with the politely self-pitying air 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 jury’s verdict is revealed in the closing credits. A very sombre portrayal of American crime and punishment.