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The true crime genre has a new medium, or perhaps even a whole new language and grammar: officer-worn camera recordings. Countenances of those harmed, witnesses and possible perpetrators loom up to the cameras, sometimes in the intense brightness of headlights or torches as the police arrive, their faces and voices expressing caution or panic or anger or dubiously feigned naivety. And we often catch sight of the expressions of the law enforcement personnel, one standing by blankly 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 Documentary Filmmaking

We have previously seen the streaming service true-crime documentary American Murder: Gabby Petito, about the slaying of an Instagram influencer by her boyfriend, whose primary focus was body cam footage and in which, as in this film, the law enforcement seemed extraordinarily lax with the perpetrator. There is also the acclaimed short film Incident by Bill Morrison, composed entirely of body cam film. Now comes Geeta Gandbhir’s documentary about the grim case of Ajike Owens in Ocala, Florida, a African American woman whose children reportedly bothered and antagonized her neighbor, a local resident. In 2023, after an escalating series of neighborhood conflicts in which the police were summoned multiple times, Lorincz fatally shot Owens through her locked 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 Lorincz had done online research into the state's self-defense statutes, which allow householders and others to use firearms if there is a reasonable belief of danger. The documentary constructs its narrative with the body cam footage generated during the repeated police visits to the scene before the shooting, and then at the disturbing and disordered incident site itself – introduced by emergency call recordings of the caller contacting authorities in a melodramatically shaky voice. There is also police cell footage of Lorincz which has a chilly, queasy fascination.

Portrayal of the Accused

The documentary does not really suggest anything too complicated about Lorincz, or any extenuating circumstance. She is clearly unstable, although the children are heard calling her a derogatory term, an ugly jibe. The production is showcased as an example of how self-defense regulations generate senseless and tragic violence. But the fact of gun ownership and the second amendment (that historic American constitutional privilege that a deceased pundit notoriously said made gun deaths a necessary cost) is not much emphasized.

Police Interrogation and Gun Culture

It is possible to watch the officer questioning segments here and feel astonished at how little interest the officers took in this aspect. When did she buy her gun? Did she receive any instruction on handling it? Was this the first time she discharged the weapon? Where did she store it in the house? Was it just on the couch, loaded and ready? 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 gun ownership so normal it would be like asking about kitchen appliances or toasters?

Detention and Consequences

For what seemed to her neighbors a very long time, Lorincz was not even taken into custody and indicted, only held and even offered a hotel stay away from home for the night (another parallel, incidentally, with the Gabby Petito case). And when she was finally officially taken into custody in the detention area, there is an extraordinary sequence in which Lorincz simply declines to rise, will not extend her arms for the handcuffs, not aggressively, but with the courteously pathetic demeanor of someone whose mental health means that she is unable to comply. 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 revealed in the closing credits. A very sombre picture of U.S. justice and consequences.