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The true crime genre has a new medium, or perhaps even a whole new language and grammar: police body cam footage. Countenances of those harmed, witnesses and potential offenders loom up to the cameras, sometimes in the intense brightness of vehicle beams or torches as the officers approach, their faces and voices expressing wariness or fear or anger or suspiciously contrived innocence. And we frequently incidentally glimpse the expressions of the law enforcement personnel, one waiting impassively while the other conducts the inquiry with what occasionally seems like remarkable hesitation – though maybe this is because they know they are being recorded.

A Growing Trend in Non-Fiction Cinema

We have previously seen 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 Bill Morrison’s Oscar-nominated short Incident, made exclusively of body cam film. Now comes a new film by Geeta Gandbhir about the grim case of a Florida mother in a city in Florida, a woman of colour whose four young kids allegedly harassed and antagonized her neighbor, Susan Lorincz. In 2023, after an escalating series of neighbour-dispute incidents in which the police were repeatedly called, Lorincz fatally shot Owens through her locked door, when Owens went to the neighbor's residence to confront her about hurling items at her children.

The Investigation and Legal Context

The investigating authorities found proof that Lorincz 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 threat. The movie constructs its narrative with the body cam footage generated during the multiple officer calls to the scene before the shooting, and then at the disturbing and disordered incident site itself – prefaced by emergency call recordings of Lorincz calling the police in a melodramatically shaky voice. There is also police cell footage of the individual which has a chilly, queasy fascination.

Portrayal of the Accused

The film does not really suggest anything too complicated about the neighbor, or any mitigating factors. She is clearly unstable, although the kids are heard calling her a derogatory term, an ugly jibe. The production is presented as an example of how self-defense regulations generate unnecessary and heartbreaking violence. But the fact of firearm possession and the constitutional right (that historic American constitutional privilege that a late commentator notoriously said made firearm fatalities 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 little interest the officers took in this aspect. At what time did she purchase the firearm? 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 undoubtedly important questions (though they could have inquired in footage that were not included). Or is gun ownership so commonplace it would be like asking about kitchen appliances or bread heaters?

Detention and Consequences

For what appeared to her local residents a very long time, the suspect was not even arrested and charged, only held and even provided accommodation away from home for the night (another point of comparison, incidentally, with the a prior incident). And when she was ultimately formally arrested in the detention area, there is an extraordinary sequence in which the individual 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 could be effective?

Conclusion and Verdict

It didn’t; and the panel's decision is revealed in the closing credits. A deeply sobering portrayal of American crime and punishment.