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The real-life crime genre has a new medium, or perhaps even a whole new language and structure: police body cam footage. Countenances of those harmed, observers and possible perpetrators appear suddenly to the cameras, sometimes in the harsh glare of headlights or torches as the officers approach, their expressions and tones expressing caution or fear or anger or suspiciously contrived innocence. And we frequently incidentally glimpse the faces of the officers themselves, one standing by blankly while the other asks the questions with what sometimes seems like extraordinary diffidence – though perhaps this is because they are aware they are being recorded.

A Growing Trend in Non-Fiction Cinema

We have previously seen the streaming service real-life crime film American Murder: Gabby Petito, about the slaying of an Instagram influencer by her partner, whose main point of interest was officer recordings and in which, as in this film, the law enforcement seemed extraordinarily lax with the perpetrator. There is also the acclaimed short film Incident by Bill Morrison, made exclusively of body cam film. Now comes Geeta Gandbhir’s documentary about the tragic incident of Ajike Owens in a city in Florida, a woman of colour whose four young kids reportedly bothered and antagonized her neighbor, Susan Lorincz. In 2023, after an escalating series of neighborhood conflicts in which the police were repeatedly called, the accused shot Owens dead through her locked door, when the victim went to the neighbor's residence to confront her about throwing objects at her children.

The Police Inquiry and Legal Context

The arresting officers found evidence that Lorincz had done online research into Florida’s “stand your ground” laws, which allow residents and others to use firearms if there is a significant presumption of danger. The movie constructs its narrative with the officer recordings generated during the repeated police visits to the scene before the shooting, 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 disturbing, unsettling appeal.

Depiction of the Suspect

The film does not really imply 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 production is showcased as an illustration of how self-defense regulations lead to 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 officer questioning segments here and feel surprised at how minimal concern the police took in this point. When did she buy her gun? Where (if anywhere) did she train in its use? Had she ever had occasion to fire it before? Where did she store it in the house? Could it have been easily accessible and prepared? The authorities 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 commonplace it would be like asking about microwaves or toasters?

Arrest and Aftermath

For what appeared to her local residents a very long time, the suspect was not even arrested and charged, only detained and even offered a hotel stay away from home for the night (another point of comparison, incidentally, with the Gabby Petito case). And when she was ultimately officially taken into custody in the holding cell, there is an extraordinary sequence 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 psychological state means that she is unable to comply. Had the kid-gloves treatment up until that point led her to think that this might actually work?

Final Outcome and Judgment

It was not successful; and the jury’s verdict is saved for the closing credits. A deeply sobering portrayal of U.S. justice and consequences.