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The true crime genre has an innovative format, or perhaps even a whole new language and grammar: officer-worn camera recordings. Countenances of those harmed, witnesses and potential offenders loom up to the cameras, at times in the intense brightness of headlights or torches as the police arrive, their faces and voices eloquent of wariness or fear or indignation or suspiciously contrived innocence. And we frequently catch sight of the faces of the officers themselves, one standing by blankly while the other conducts the inquiry with what occasionally seems like remarkable hesitation – though perhaps this is because they are aware they are being recorded.

A Growing Trend in Non-Fiction Cinema

We have previously seen the Netflix real-life crime film American Murder: Gabby Petito, about the killing 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 law enforcement seemed extraordinarily lax with the perpetrator. There is also the acclaimed short film Incident by Bill Morrison, made exclusively of body cam film. Now comes Geeta Gandbhir’s documentary about the grim case of a Florida mother in a city in Florida, a African American woman whose four young kids reportedly bothered and tormented her neighbor, Susan Lorincz. In 2023, after an increasing number of neighborhood conflicts in which the authorities were repeatedly called, Lorincz fatally shot Owens through her closed front door, when the victim went to Lorincz’s house to address her about hurling items at her children.

The Investigation and State Laws

The arresting officers found proof that Lorincz had done internet searches into the state's self-defense statutes, which allow householders and others to shoot if there is a reasonable belief of danger. The movie constructs its narrative with the officer recordings captured during the multiple officer calls to the location before the killing, and then at the disturbing and disordered incident site itself – introduced by 911 audio material of the caller calling the police in a dramatically trembling voice. There is also police cell footage of the individual which has a chilly, queasy fascination.

Depiction of the Suspect

The documentary does not really suggest anything too complex about Lorincz, or any mitigating factors. She is obviously disturbed, although the children are heard calling her “the Karen”, an ugly jibe. The film is showcased as an example of how self-defense regulations generate senseless and tragic bloodshed. But the reality 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 feasible to watch the officer questioning segments here and feel astonished at how minimal concern the officers took in this point. When did she buy her gun? Did she receive any instruction on handling it? Was this the first time she discharged the weapon? How was the gun kept in her home? Could it have been easily accessible and prepared? The authorities aren’t shown asking any of these surely relevant questions (though they may have done in recordings that didn’t make the edit). Or is gun ownership so normal it would be like asking about microwaves or bread heaters?

Detention and Consequences

For what seemed to her neighbors a very long time, the suspect was not even arrested and charged, only held and even offered a hotel stay away from home for the night (another point of comparison, by the way, with the a prior incident). And when she was finally officially taken into custody in the holding cell, there is an remarkable scene in which the individual 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 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 saved for the closing credits. A deeply sobering picture of American crime and punishment.