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The true crime genre has an innovative format, or perhaps even a whole new language and structure: officer-worn camera recordings. Countenances of those harmed, observers and potential offenders appear suddenly to the cameras, sometimes in the harsh glare of vehicle beams or flashlights as the officers approach, their expressions and tones eloquent of wariness or fear or anger or dubiously feigned naivety. And we frequently catch sight of the expressions of the officers themselves, one standing by blankly while the other conducts the inquiry with what occasionally seems like extraordinary diffidence – though maybe this is because they know they are being recorded.

An Emerging Pattern in Documentary Filmmaking

We have previously seen the streaming service true-crime documentary American Murder: Gabby Petito, about the slaying of an Instagram influencer by her boyfriend, whose primary focus was officer recordings and in which, as in this film, the law enforcement 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 children reportedly bothered and antagonized her white neighbour, a local resident. In 2023, after an escalating series of neighborhood conflicts in which the police were summoned multiple times, the accused shot Owens dead through her locked door, when the victim went to Lorincz’s house to confront her about throwing objects at her children.

The Police Inquiry and Legal Context

The investigating authorities found proof that the suspect had done internet searches into Florida’s “stand your ground” laws, which allow householders and others to shoot if there is a reasonable belief of danger. The movie constructs its narrative with the body cam footage captured during the repeated police visits to the location before the shooting, and then at the horrific and chaotic crime scene itself – introduced by emergency call recordings of Lorincz calling the police in a melodramatically shaky 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 complicated about the neighbor, or any mitigating factors. She is obviously disturbed, although the children are heard calling her a derogatory term, an ugly jibe. The film is showcased as an example of how self-defense regulations lead to senseless and tragic violence. But the reality of gun ownership and the constitutional right (that historic American constitutional privilege that a late commentator famously claimed made gun deaths a necessary cost) is not much emphasized.

Officer Questioning and Firearm Norms

It is possible to watch the officer questioning segments here and feel surprised at how minimal concern the police took in this aspect. When did she buy her gun? Where (if anywhere) did she train in its use? 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 surely relevant questions (though they may have done in footage that were not included). Or is possessing a firearm so normal it would be like asking about microwaves or bread heaters?

Detention and Consequences

For what seemed to her local residents a very long time, Lorincz was not even taken into custody and indicted, only held and even offered a hotel stay away from home for the night (another point of comparison, by the way, with the a prior incident). And when she was finally formally arrested in the holding cell, there is an extraordinary sequence in which Lorincz simply declines to rise, will not extend her arms for the cuffs, not hostilely, but with the courteously pathetic demeanor of someone whose psychological state means that she just can’t do it. Did the gentle handling up until that point encouraged 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 end titles. A very sombre picture of American crime and punishment.