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The real-life crime genre has an innovative format, or perhaps even a whole new language and grammar: officer-worn camera recordings. Countenances of those harmed, witnesses and potential offenders loom up to the cameras, at times in the intense brightness of vehicle beams or flashlights as the police arrive, their faces and voices eloquent of wariness or fear or anger or suspiciously contrived innocence. And we frequently catch sight of the faces of the officers themselves, one waiting impassively while the other asks the questions with what sometimes seems like extraordinary diffidence – though maybe this is because they are aware they are being recorded.

A Growing Trend in Non-Fiction Cinema

We have previously seen the streaming service true-crime documentary American Murder: Gabby Petito, about the killing of an social media personality by her boyfriend, whose main point of interest was body cam footage and in which, as in this film, the police seemed extraordinarily lax with the perpetrator. There is also Bill Morrison’s Oscar-nominated short Incident, composed entirely of officer footage. Now comes a new film by Geeta Gandbhir about the grim case of a Florida mother in a city in Florida, a African American woman whose four young kids allegedly harassed and antagonized her white neighbour, Susan Lorincz. In 2023, after an increasing number of neighborhood conflicts in which the police were summoned multiple times, the accused fatally shot Owens through her locked door, when Owens went to the neighbor's residence to address her about throwing objects at her children.

The Investigation and State Laws

The arresting officers found proof that Lorincz had done online research into the state's self-defense statutes, which allow householders and others to shoot if there is a reasonable belief of danger. The movie constructs its narrative with the officer recordings captured during the repeated police visits to the scene before the killing, and then at the horrific and chaotic incident site itself – introduced by emergency call recordings of the caller contacting authorities in a melodramatically shaky voice. There is also jail video of Lorincz which has a chilly, queasy fascination.

Portrayal of the Accused

The documentary does not really imply anything too complicated about the neighbor, or any mitigating factors. She is clearly unstable, although the kids 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 violence. But the fact of firearm possession and the constitutional right (that historic American constitutional privilege that a late commentator notoriously said made gun deaths a price worth paying) is not much emphasized.

Officer Questioning and Gun Culture

It is possible to watch the officer questioning segments here and feel surprised at how little interest the police took in this aspect. When did she buy her gun? Did she receive any instruction on handling it? 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 surely relevant questions (though they may have done in footage that didn’t make the edit). Or is possessing a firearm so normal it would be like asking about kitchen appliances or bread heaters?

Detention and Consequences

For what seemed to her neighbors a extended period, Lorincz 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 a prior incident). And when she was ultimately officially taken into custody in the holding cell, there is an remarkable scene in which the individual simply refuses to stand, will not extend her arms for the cuffs, not aggressively, 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?

Conclusion and Verdict

It was not successful; and the panel's decision is saved for the end titles. A very sombre portrayal of U.S. justice and consequences.