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The true crime genre has an innovative format, or perhaps even a whole new language and grammar: police body cam footage. Faces of victims, witnesses and potential offenders loom up to the cameras, at times in the harsh glare of vehicle beams or flashlights as the officers approach, their expressions and tones eloquent of caution or fear or indignation or dubiously feigned naivety. And we often catch sight of 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.

An Emerging Pattern in Documentary Filmmaking

We have previously seen the streaming service true-crime documentary American Murder: Gabby Petito, about the killing of an Instagram influencer by her boyfriend, whose main point of interest was officer recordings and in which, as in this film, the law enforcement seemed extraordinarily lax with the suspect. There is also the acclaimed short film Incident by Bill Morrison, made exclusively 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 woman of colour whose children allegedly harassed and antagonized her neighbor, Susan Lorincz. In 2023, after an increasing number of neighbour-dispute incidents in which the authorities were repeatedly called, Lorincz shot Owens dead through her closed front door, when Owens went to the neighbor's residence to address her about hurling items at her children.

The Investigation and State Laws

The arresting officers found evidence that the suspect had done online research into Florida’s “stand your ground” laws, which permit residents and others to use firearms if there is a significant presumption of danger. The documentary constructs its narrative with the officer recordings captured during the multiple officer calls to the scene before the shooting, and then at the disturbing and disordered incident site itself – prefaced by 911 audio material of the caller contacting authorities in a melodramatically shaky voice. There is also police cell footage of the individual which has a disturbing, unsettling appeal.

Portrayal of the Accused

The documentary does not really suggest anything too complicated about Lorincz, or any mitigating factors. She is clearly unstable, although the children are heard calling her “the Karen”, an hurtful taunt. The film is showcased as an illustration of how “stand your ground” laws generate unnecessary and heartbreaking violence. But the fact of gun ownership and the constitutional right (that historic American constitutional privilege that a deceased pundit notoriously said made gun deaths a necessary cost) is not much highlighted.

Officer Questioning and Firearm Norms

It is feasible to watch the police interrogation scenes here and feel astonished at how minimal concern the officers 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? How was the gun kept in her home? Was it just on the couch, loaded and ready? The police aren’t shown asking any of these surely relevant questions (though they could have inquired in footage that didn’t make the edit). Or is possessing a firearm so commonplace it would be like asking about kitchen appliances or toasters?

Arrest and Aftermath

For what appeared to her local residents a extended period, Lorincz was not even taken into custody and indicted, only detained and even provided accommodation away from home for the night (another point of comparison, by the way, with the a prior incident). And when she was ultimately formally arrested in the holding cell, there is an remarkable scene in which Lorincz simply declines to rise, 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 led her to think that this might actually work?

Conclusion and Verdict

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