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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, observers and possible perpetrators loom up to the cameras, at times 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 dubiously feigned naivety. And we frequently incidentally glimpse the expressions of the officers themselves, one waiting impassively while the other conducts the inquiry with what occasionally seems like extraordinary diffidence – though perhaps this is because they are aware they are being recorded.

An Emerging Pattern in Documentary Filmmaking

We have already had the streaming service 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 suspect. There is also the acclaimed short film Incident by Bill Morrison, made exclusively of officer footage. Now comes Geeta Gandbhir’s documentary about the grim case of a Florida mother in Ocala, Florida, a African American woman whose four young kids allegedly harassed and tormented her neighbor, Susan Lorincz. In 2023, after an increasing number of neighbour-dispute incidents in which the authorities were repeatedly called, the accused fatally shot Owens through her locked door, when the victim went to the neighbor's residence to address her about throwing objects at her children.

The Investigation and Legal Context

The investigating authorities found evidence that the suspect had done online research into Florida’s “stand your ground” laws, which allow residents and others to shoot if there is a reasonable belief of threat. 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 horrific and chaotic incident site itself – introduced by 911 audio material of the caller calling the police in a dramatically trembling voice. There is also jail video of the individual which has a disturbing, unsettling appeal.

Depiction of the Suspect

The documentary does not really suggest anything too complex 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 generate senseless and tragic violence. But the fact of firearm possession and the constitutional right (that historic American constitutional privilege that a late commentator famously claimed made firearm fatalities a necessary cost) is not much emphasized.

Police Interrogation and Firearm Norms

It is feasible 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? Where (if anywhere) did she train in its use? 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 undoubtedly important questions (though they may have done in footage that didn’t make the edit). Or is possessing a firearm so commonplace it would be like asking about microwaves or bread heaters?

Arrest and Aftermath

For what seemed to her neighbors a very long time, Lorincz was not even arrested and charged, only held and even offered a hotel stay away from home for the night (another parallel, incidentally, with the a prior incident). And when she was finally formally arrested in the holding cell, there is an remarkable scene in which Lorincz simply refuses to stand, refuses to put her wrists out for the cuffs, not hostilely, but with the politely self-pitying air of someone whose psychological state means that she is unable to comply. Had the kid-gloves treatment up until that point encouraged her to think that this could be effective?

Final Outcome and Judgment

It didn’t; and the panel's decision is revealed in the end titles. A very sombre picture of American crime and punishment.