🔗 Share this article

The real-life crime genre has a new medium, or perhaps even a completely fresh vocabulary and grammar: officer-worn camera recordings. Countenances of those harmed, witnesses and possible perpetrators appear suddenly to the cameras, sometimes in the intense brightness of vehicle beams or flashlights as the police arrive, their expressions and tones eloquent of wariness or panic or anger or suspiciously contrived innocence. And we frequently catch sight of the faces of the law enforcement personnel, one waiting impassively 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 Netflix true-crime documentary American Murder: Gabby Petito, about the slaying of an social media personality by her partner, whose main point of interest was body cam footage and in which, as in this film, the police 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 Ajike Owens in Ocala, Florida, a African American woman whose children 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 Lorincz’s house to address her about hurling items at her children.

The Investigation and State Laws

The investigating authorities found proof 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 builds its story with the body cam footage generated during the multiple officer calls to the scene before the shooting, and then at the horrific and chaotic crime scene itself – introduced by emergency call recordings of the caller 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 imply anything too complex about the neighbor, or any mitigating factors. She is clearly unstable, although the kids are heard calling her “the Karen”, an hurtful taunt. The film is showcased as an illustration of how self-defense regulations lead to unnecessary and heartbreaking violence. But the reality of gun ownership and the second amendment (that historic American constitutional privilege that a deceased pundit famously claimed made gun deaths a price worth paying) is not much emphasized.

Officer Questioning and Gun Culture

It is possible to watch the police interrogation scenes here and feel surprised at how little interest the officers took in this point. At what time did she purchase the firearm? Where (if anywhere) did she train in its use? Was this the first time she discharged the weapon? Where did she store it in the house? Could it have been easily accessible and prepared? The police aren’t shown asking any of these surely relevant questions (though they could have inquired in recordings that were not included). Or is possessing a firearm so normal it would be like asking about microwaves or bread heaters?

Arrest and Aftermath

For what appeared to her local residents a very long time, the suspect was not even arrested and charged, only detained and even provided accommodation away from home for the night (another parallel, incidentally, with the a prior incident). And when she was finally formally arrested in the detention area, there is an extraordinary sequence in which Lorincz simply declines to rise, will not extend her arms for the cuffs, not aggressively, but with the politely self-pitying air of someone whose mental health means that she is unable to comply. 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 closing credits. A deeply sobering picture of U.S. justice and consequences.