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The true crime category has a new medium, or perhaps even a whole new language and structure: officer-worn camera recordings. Countenances of those harmed, observers and potential offenders loom up to the cameras, sometimes in the intense brightness of vehicle beams or flashlights as the officers approach, their expressions and tones eloquent of caution or fear or indignation or suspiciously contrived innocence. And we often incidentally glimpse the expressions of the law enforcement personnel, one waiting impassively while the other conducts the inquiry with what sometimes seems like remarkable hesitation – though perhaps this is because they know they are being recorded.

A Growing Trend in Non-Fiction Cinema

We have already had the Netflix true-crime documentary The Gabby Petito Case, about the killing of an social media personality by her partner, whose primary focus 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, composed entirely of body cam film. 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 allegedly harassed and tormented her white neighbour, a local resident. In 2023, after an escalating series of neighbour-dispute incidents in which the authorities were summoned multiple times, Lorincz shot Owens dead through her locked door, when Owens went to Lorincz’s house to address her about hurling items at her children.

The Investigation and Legal Context

The arresting officers found evidence that Lorincz had done internet searches into the state's self-defense statutes, which allow householders and others to shoot if there is a reasonable belief of threat. The movie builds its story with the body cam footage generated during the repeated police visits to the location before the shooting, and then at the horrific and chaotic incident site itself – prefaced by 911 audio material of the caller calling the police in a dramatically trembling voice. There is also police cell footage of the individual which has a chilly, queasy fascination.

Depiction of the Suspect

The film does not really suggest anything too complicated about the neighbor, or any extenuating circumstance. She is obviously disturbed, although the children are heard calling her “the Karen”, an ugly jibe. The film is showcased as an illustration of how “stand your ground” laws lead to senseless and tragic bloodshed. But the fact of firearm possession and the second amendment (that historic American constitutional privilege that a late commentator famously claimed made gun deaths a price worth paying) is not much highlighted.

Police Interrogation and Gun Culture

It is possible to watch the officer questioning segments here and feel surprised at how minimal concern the officers took in this aspect. When did she buy her gun? Did she receive any instruction on handling it? Was this the first time she discharged the weapon? How was the gun kept in her home? Was it just on the couch, loaded and ready? The authorities aren’t shown asking any of these surely relevant questions (though they may have done in recordings that didn’t make the edit). Or is gun ownership so commonplace it would be like asking about kitchen appliances or bread heaters?

Arrest and Aftermath

For what seemed to her neighbors a extended period, the suspect was not even taken into custody and indicted, only held and even provided accommodation away from home for the night (another point of comparison, incidentally, with the Gabby Petito case). And when she was finally formally arrested in the detention area, there is an extraordinary sequence in which Lorincz simply refuses to stand, will not extend her arms for the handcuffs, not hostilely, but with the courteously pathetic demeanor of someone whose mental health means that she just can’t do it. Did the gentle handling up until that point led her to think that this might actually work?

Final Outcome and Judgment

It didn’t; and the jury’s verdict is revealed in the end titles. A deeply sobering picture of U.S. justice and consequences.